Mamorallo Tjoka was the oldest athlete representing Lesotho at the Olympic Games at the age of 27, and was the country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. She had previously competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the women's marathon which she withdrew from because she injured her leg. Tjoka qualified for the Games via a wildcard because she had not set a competitive time for the women's marathon, between the last Olympic Games and the London Olympics. She stated that if she won the marathon, she believed that her country would be "really happy". Her training was aided by Lesotho's high altitudes. Tjoka took part in the women's marathon on 5 August, finishing 90th out of 107 athletes, with a time of 2 hours, 43 minutes, 15 seconds.