06 Jun 2016

Botswana’s new kid 400 metres runner finished on position six, while his compatriot Isaac Makwala settled for position two in a  Birmingham Diamond League meet staged at Alexander Stadium on Sunday.

Position one went to Grenadian sprinter’s Kirani James with 44.23, followed by Makwala with 44.97, on position three was Vernon Norwood 45.08, while Thebe managed to beat Great Britan veteran runners Rabah Yousif, and Jarryd Dunn to settle for six with 45.54.

However Thebe started the race at a very high speed, but lowered down in the last remaining 100 metres. He however said he enjoyed his race and he had learnt a lot from the veteran runners.

University of Botswana sport psychology, sociology of sport and track and field Lecture, Dr Tshepang Tshube who watched the race said it was great to see Botswana’s top two athletes at the Birmingham Diamond league.

He said that alone was a sign of growth in the countries track and field. Analysing the race he said Makwala demonstrated a better control of his race compared to previous races.

Dr Tshube further said  he had a good start and distributed his energy well across the race, adding there was no doubt that he could do better in coming races 

The rookie Thebe, he said had a good race and he had a great start but did not distribute his energy well particularly in the last 40 metres.

He said he did not seem confident as his face seemed tense but that was probably due to the pressure of being a rookie and racing with Makwala and James.

He therefore advised that his coach needed to work on building his confidence and race tactics. 

“He is a rising star, it is also important for the boys to work together as  a team as he can learn a lot from Makwala, but all in all this was a good build-up to the Olympics,” he said. ENDS