15 Apr 2020

It has contributed significantly to the growth of sport in the country, as talented athletes were unearthed from the region in the likes of Gabriel Garenamotse, Amantle Montsho, Ruri Ramokolodi and Karabo Sibanda among others.

BOPA reporter conducted random interviews to find out what could be attributing to the success of the region as far as athletics is concerned.

Some people associated the achievements to several factors such as lifestyle, the food they eat and economic reasons among others.

Moefasiya Tlhobolo, who used to be an athlete during his youthful days, attributed the success to their lifestyle, noting that traditionally Ngamiland communities were pastoralists who spent most of their time at the cattle posts managing their livestock.

Tlhobolo said running around doing domestic work was part of exercising hence they became physically and mentally fit.

The 88-year-old man explained that the food they eat also contributed to their success in the track, adding that they depended much on traditional food and wild fruits.

Professor Toyin Kolawole from the Okavango Research Institute (ORI) also shared the same sentiments that the district was blessed when it came to sports.

He said he had done research which attributed several factors to the success of athletes from Ngamiland to perform better than their counterparts from other parts of Botswana.

His findings showed factors ranging from personal, geographic, biological, physiological, dietary and economic reasons.

He noted that Botswana has a sunny and very hot climate, and that Ngamiland was one of the hottest regions in the country.

Prof. Kolawole said the degree and intensity of the sunshine coupled with the associated heat could enable the production of more testosterone, which raises the activity levels of individuals, adding that the higher the testosterone level, the more active the individual.

“The case of the young lady in South Africa, Mokgadi Caster Semenya will further buttress my point and even Amantle Montsho’s physique could tell,” he added.

Furthermore, he stated that dietary factors also contributed to the good performance of athletes from Ngamiland.

He noted that eating fish was a regular part of peoples’ diets, adding that it confered an advantage on performance in relation to the omega family supplements, which fish eaters derive.

In addition, he said biological and physiological factors were also applicable, adding that the genetic make-up of an individual partly constituted their personality.

Prof. Kolawole stated that people from Ngamiland were more agile and slimmer, saying it was a major factor in sport performance.

With regard to economic factors, Prof. Kolawole noted that Ngamiland was relatively poorer than many districts in Botswana, and that young people from the region have realised that sports was a lucrative undertaking.

 “An athlete from a poor area will want to perform better, those from poor homes will want to do even better. So this may partly explain the reasons why young people from here are excelling,” he said.

Recently, North West District Botswana Games general manager, Tebogo Mogaetsho, revealed that the district had performed exceptionally well in all sporting code and that some athletes from the region had represented the country in international competitions. ENDS