16 Oct 2018

The first Motswana to qualify for the Olympics finals, Glody Dube says government and the private sector should invest more in athletics if they want to reap good results.

Speaking in an interview, the retired middle-distance runner said athletics have been dominating sport charts and continue to brand Botswana internationally hence the need to sustain the momentum.  

The man who clocked a personal best of 1:44 seconds in Australia in 2000 transformed his life for good. 

He attributes his success to sports, adding that he was where he was because of athletics.

Dube said athletics has been the provider of his livelihood, and that it must be developed to create employment for others.

“Let’s do it like they do in Kenya and invest in athletes,” he said.

He said in Kenya athletes were more successful because they signed binding contracts which pushed them to deliver from a tender age, and that those who performed were rewarded accordingly. 

He noted that the contractual obligations monitored performance, and that the remuneration structure was in line with the deliverables. 

He said if Botswana was to take its athletes to a higher level, it was important to treat athletics as a business.  

Dube stated that countries that succeeded in fielding high caliber athletes treated athletics like any other formal employment. “There should be a performance based system. If an athlete fails to perform he/she should be thrown out.”

He noted that locally athletics was administered on a voluntary basis. “You cannot be a volunteer for too long in sports. There should be people who are employed to run athletics. 

You need people who are employed because they are experienced and passionate.”

The 40-year-old retired athlete said he was currently involved in running athletics through event organisation and management. He also holds motivational talks around the country.

 “We offer courses on officiating and coaching. We also organise the Gaborone International Meet (GIM),” he said.

Dube said he started the GIM in 2010 while serving in the Botswana Athletics Confederation, but that he left the confederation on account of conflict of interests and focused on running the GIM.

 “I started by paying athletes from my own pocket because I understand that athletes make a living out of running. Then in 2015 we solicited sponsors who made the event bigger and better,” he said.

Dube, who is a primary school teacher by profession, is currently teaching at Modipane Primary School. He is also involved in pre-schools business, lodges and real estate.

“The financial start-up for all these properties and businesses was from athletics,” he said.

He said his goal was to bring Jamaican sensational, Usain Bolt to the GIM. 

“Next year we are planning to bring Bolt here. We want him to make an appearance. He will be paid an appearance fee,” he said.

Dube said athletics could improve the livelihoods of those talented. “Imagine that nine seconds in a 100 meter race can turn one into a millionaire,” he said. ENDS