11 Oct 2019

 The 800m sensation, Nijel Amos says it is crucial to reduce races when preparing for major meets such as the World championships to avoid injuries.

In an interview on Wednesday, the local champion, who failed to compete at the IAAF World Championship due to an injury, said the incident was a wake up call for him.

Amos pulled out of the race on the eleventh hour due to an injury, leaving the nation in a frenzy, as he was a medal hopeful given his performance prior to the championships.

The seasoned athlete said pulling out of the race was the best decision for him.

“We are overloading ourselves to make money so as to support our families and if government wants us to win medals at international stages, they should intervene and help us,” he said.

According to Marobela star, investing on the athletes was inevitable, given that it was through investment that the nation could reap some good rewards.Currently, he said four athletes had qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which will be held from July 24-August 09, and  time was now to  hit the ground running in ensuring that Botswana achieve its four medals set target.

“It is now 10 months away from the Olympics, and in my opinion it is already too late, I think as a country we can do better, and desist from putting the athletes under pressure,” he said.

Talking about the injury, he said he was happy that it was not a career threatening one, adding that the injury was caused by forgetting to put on his compression socks while flying to Doha.
“Sometimes, it is all those little things that you do not get right that could cost you, but together with Oregon Track Club team, we accepted and we should move forward,” he said.

Amos however said he was confident that, he would win Botswana a medal in Tokyo, adding that he was in top form and nothing would hinder him  

Despite the fact that he did not secure the much sought for medal at Doha, he said he takes solace in the fact that he managed to achieve some of his set targets this season.

This season, he managed to clock better times of his career, as he managed to run 1:41.89 at Monaco Diamond League meeting in July setting this season’s   World-Leading time.

“There is a lot of positives that I will take to the next season and I am not going to spend my time worrying about past things,” he said. ENDS