07 May 2018

Local athletes seem determined to make 400 metres their forte, as young Bernard Olesitse emulated his elder countryman, Issac Makwala, to win gold in Marrakesh, Morocco, in the International School Sports Federation competitions on May 5.

Makwala recently won gold in 400 metres and 4x400 metres relay at the Commonwealth Games while Baboloki Thebe grabbed silver.

Olesitse outclassed the field and recorded a Personal Best (PB) of 47:54. His scintillating performance showed that local athletes were good in 400 metres.

In the 400 metres final, he showed his opponents a clean pair of heels to reach the finish line first, with position two going to Sheng Luo of China followed by Moroccan Mehdi Sefrani.

Olesitse, who represented the country at the 2017 World Youth Championships hosted by Kenya, came eighth in the semi-finals with a time of 50:54.

Before departing for Morocco, Olesitse said in an interview that the nation should expect more from him looking at his good preparations.

“My ambition is to represent my country at international events like the Commonwealth Games, Olympics Games and World Championships. I know it does not come easy, and one has to work very hard to make a breakthrough at the international stage,” he said.

Chilume Ntshwarang, the coach who is in Morocco with the athletes, said he was happy with Olesitse’s performance.

He noted that the young athlete recorded an impressive time, and that they were expecting him to run 400 metres  in 46 seconds and below in future.

Ntshwarang said the athlete was at the right stage as he still had more competitions ahead of him.

He said he would compete at the IAAF 2018 World U-20 Championships in Finland in July, the third African Youth Games to be hosted by Algeria and the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

“It’s a PB for him and work in progress at this moment in time. He is at a level similar to that of Karabo Sibanda in May 2014,” the coach said.

Meanwhile, another athlete, Oarabile Tshosa finished on position five in 100 metres with a time of 12:33.

The team, which is accompanied by Botswana Integrated Sports Association (BISA) president, Joshua Gaotlhobogwe is expected home on Thursday. Ends