21 Aug 2017

Botswana 800 metres runner, Nijel Amos stamped his  authority in the Diamond League circuit when he finished first with a time of 1:44.50, during the Müller Grand Prix Birmingham Diamond League meeting held at Alexander Stadium on Sunday.

His country man, Isaac Makwala finished fourth in 200 metres clocking 20.41 at the same meeting.

Amos who failed to impress at the IAAF World Championships,  showed that he was determined to bring the lucrative Diamond League trophy home, as he was relaxed but at the same time controlling the race.

He displayed a lot of maturity, guarding the pace maker Bram Som very well and this time his tactics were on point, given that he avoided being pushed and boxed during the race.
Amos said in an interview  after the race that he enjoyed the Alexander Stadium track.

He said  his mission was to continue with his Diamond League winning streak, as he wanted to go to the finals with a clean sheet.
 “All I wanted was to keep my Diamond League winning ways. And mostly have fun and I did exactly that and went on to stay in control all the way,” he said.

For Makwala, despite finishing on position four, athletics pundits are of the view that for him it was ‘mission accomplished’ given that he had the opportunity to sharpen his speed, before the Diamond League finals.

The athlete said he was happy with his 200 metres performance, given that he used the race for speed work. He said his focus was Diamond League finals, where his mission was to prove his mettle in Zurich this week.

“That’s my target. I want to win the Diamond League finals, hence I was using 200 metres to fully prepare for the big day,” he said.
Former Botswana Athletics Association, secretary general, Legojane Kebaitse said 200 metres was not Makwala’s strength.

He said during the race the athlete started off very well in the first 100m and faded the last 100m as he did in London.
 

“With Usain Bolt retiring, 200m is one of the races that is yet to be “claimed” by athletes. It looks like the Turkish fellow Ramil Guliyev wants to declare it his race so far.I still believe it is still wide open though,” he said.

Furthermore, Kebaitse said he was of the view that Makwala was still engulfed by London frustrations and slowly but surely he would come to the party.
“Remember his 19:77 time is yet to be beaten. This to me means once he get over London then he can lay a claim on the race too,”he said.

As for Amos, he said the athlete got his tactics very well this time, adding that he was improving with every race.
 “Currently I don’t see anything stopping him from bringing the crown home. You can tell from his confidence that he is aiming for something big. I see him aiming the record next year, or in two years,” he said. Ends