19 Aug 2014

African youth champions, Baboloki Thebe and Karabo Sibanda say they are ready to hit the rubber in the 2014 Nanjing Olympic Games for the men’s 100m and 400m races, which begin this week. 

Even though the two athletes won gold medals during the African Youth Games which were held in Gaborone in May, they will have a tough test against the world best young athletes. Thebe said in an interview that he was more than ready to battle against other athletes.

“The good thing is that ever since the African Youth Games, I have been training hard and my time is always improving,” he said. His personal best is 20.85 seconds. For his part, 400m champion, Sibanda said even though it was going to be tough, he believed that his preparations would take him to the finals.

“400m is always a competitive race in every competition, but I am doing all my best to make sure that I cruise from the heats all the way to win a medal at the finals,” said 17-year-old Sibanda.

He said he met some of the best athletes from America whom he competed against during the Youth Athletics Championships, which were also held in America. “I think I have adapted well in Nanjing and I am now comfortable with the training facilities here,” he said.

Sibanda will have a tough battle against current America Youth Champion, Andrew James who currently has the best personal best time of all men’s 400m. ENDS