21 Feb 2019

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) Cross Country Championship winners will have something to smile about after Diacore donated P15 000 as prize money.

The national Cross Country Championships will be held in Palapye on February 23, and top athletes are expected to compete at the event.

The finals follow three preliminary races that took place in the north and south of the country to select those who will compete at the finals.

Speaking at the donation ceremony, Diacore marketing and public relations officer, Ed Kalo Ndebele said having been involved with the marathon for a long time, it had become apparent that long distance runners where the underdogs of local athletics.

He said their goal was to work with BAA to ensure elite athletes prospered, adding that with proper training, diet and motivation, his company had confidence that Botswana would be able to produce runners who could conquer races across the world.

 “Our runners have already shown impressive results in local races, and it is now time for them to spread that success internationally with particular focus on Tokyo 2020,” he said. Ndebele said after five years of healthy growth and success, the Diacore Gaborone Marathon in 2016 took a bold step to grow outside the purview of a one day event by adopting 10 elite long distance athletes to train for Tokyo 2020.

“In doing so, Diacore Gaborone Marathon challenged both the people of Botswana and the private sector to stand behind the cause and push our athletes forward to glory, which is a call that was heard and answered in kind,” he said.

Furthermore, he said since the programme started in August 2016, the Diacore Gaborone Marathon athletes had gone on to conquer podiums in Francistown, Jwaneng, Gaborone and Soweto, where they competed against 22 000 of Southern Africa’s finest.

For his part, BAA president, Thari Mooketsi said he was happy that Diacore bailed the association out by donating the prize money for the national Cross Country Championships.

He noted that since 2016, Diacore had parted with P400 000 to help middle and distance runners.

He said they also helped in sending athletes to competitions outside the country, adding that some of the athletes competed in London. ENDS