27 May 2018

Botswana’s 400m finest runner, Karabo Sibanda has won double at the AUSC Region 5, Regional Annual Sport Awards (RASA) held in Johannesburg, South Africa on May 26.

Sibanda won the Sportsperson of the year and junior sportsman of the year awards.

In the Sportsperson of the year award, he beat South African long jumper, Luvo Manyonga and Zimbabwean karateka, Samson Muripo to run away with the most lucrative Sportsperson of the year award.

Although Sibanda stood no chance against his competitors when looking at their achievements, he emerged the winner nonetheless.

Sibanda was Botswana’s only finalist at the Rio 2016 Olympics and finished on position five with a time of 44.25 and was ranked the second fastest junior in 400m in the world in 2016.

Also, he won a bronze medal at the 2016 World Junior Athletics Championships in Poland and helped Botswana win a gold medal in 4x400m relay in Durban during the African Senior Championships.

Manyonga won a gold medal at the IAAF World championships, four times winner of the Diamond League meeting,  current 2017 National Champion and African record holder and broke the National Record twice in 2017.

Muripo won gold, silver and bronze at the So-Kyokushin Karate Tournament in Ahvaz, Iran, 2017.

In the junior sportsman of the year award, Sibanda beat Zambian athlete, Kennedy Luchembe, who won a gold medal in 400m during the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bahamas, and also competed for the first time at the international level and qualified for IAAF U-18 World Championship finals in Nairobi and eSwatini’s Thandolwethu Motsa of Taekwondo.

Motsa was placed in top eight at Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) Youth Games 2014 and won a gold medal at Mozambique’s National Championship.

Botswana also won the Region 5 award. Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) sports development director-technical, Bobby Gaseitsiwe said he was happy that the award was won by Botswana.

He said it meant that BNSC and its strategic partners, Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development were doing things right.

He said Botswana had structures in place from grassroot level and had trained sport officials.

In other categories, in the Junior sportswoman of the year, Botswana’s tennis player, Tshegofatso Tsiang was beaten by Zimbabwean Tanyaradzwa Muzinda of Motocross.

Onkemetse Francis of Chess and Malawian football player, Tabitha Chawinga were both beaten by South African athlete, Caster Semenya for the Sportswoman of the year award.

The 4x400m men relay award went to Zambia’s U20 National Team, while Coach of the year award went to South African athletics’ coach, Jean Verster, who was in the same category with Zambian football coach, Beston Chambeshi and Mogomotsi Otsetswe. ENDS