03 Jul 2019

Young people with sporting talent have been advised to use the opportunity offered by Constituency Sport Competitions to build careers for themselves.

The Southern District youth coordinator, Minkie Bokole made the advice during the Southern District athletics competition held at Lobatse Sports Complex recently.

Bokole advised the athletes to be disciplined and committed to sport and push themselves hard as they had the potential to develop further.

She also urged them to have vision and aspire to reach the highest level so that they could end up participating at international competitions in future.

“The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development is running this programme because it has realised that young people have a lot of talent.

One of the main objectives is to identify that talent. But we don’t want to see your participation ending here, because the department is simply giving you a platform to continue developing and going far,” she said.

Former national athletics hero, Golekane Mosweu, told the youngsters that taking sport seriously could open many opportunities for them.

The 70-year-old Mosweu, who represented Botswana in many international competitions in the 1970s and 80s, including the 1980 Olympics in Russia and Commonwealth Games in 1974 and 1986, cited himself as an example of people who benefited from participating in sport.

He said he came from humble beginnings of herding his father’s cattle and working in the mines in South Africa but ended up being an international athlete.

He said he started participating in athletics while working in the mines in 1971 and went on to traverse the world representing the country in sporting competition in places like Russia, New Zealand, England and the then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

“I didn’t receive any formal education when I was young. I only herded cattle at home in Ga Majaalela but managed to travel the world because of athletics,” said the Peleng resident. Mosweu advised the athletes to stay away from alcohol and drugs.

The competition brought together best performing track events’ athletes at sub-district level from Lobatse, Kanye, Moshupa, Goodhope, Mabutsane and Jwaneng sub-districts. Lobatse and Good Hope dominated the competition. Lobatse took position one in six events while Good Hope won five events. Kanye and Mabutsane won one event, while Moshupa and Jwaneng left empty handed.

Athletes, who got first and second position in each category, qualified to represent the Southern District at the national finals, which will be held in Maun this weekend.

They were in the men’s category; Thabo Molapo and Boyce Mogapi (100m), Dikabelo Basima and Kagiso Moyuthu (200m), Thabo Kootswele and Alex Modumo (400m), James Tabola and Gofiwa Motsokwane (800m), James Tabola and Modisaotsile Kgokologa (1 500m), Gaolebale Mosweu and Odirile Chepete (3 000m) and Modisaotsile Kgokologa and Gofiwa Motsokwane (5 000m).

Those who qualified for the finals in the ladies category were; Bontle Dingalo and Lebogang Rabatokolo (100m), Nametso Kebontse and Bontle Dingalo (200m), Tumediso Modibedi and Magdeline Itebogeng (400m) and Lesedinyana Tumelo and Gosego Matebele (800m, 1 500m and 3 000m). ENDS