23 Sep 2020

The country’s top athletes have started training in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics qualifiers.

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) vice president, Oabona Theetso revealed in an interview that preparations were disturbed by the second lockdown in Greater Gaborone.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed to next year due to the coronavirus outbreak, and the new qualifying dates start on December 1  to June 29 next year.

Only Nijel Amos, Christine Botlogetswe, Galefele Moroko and Amantle Montsho have qualified for the Olympics.

“We are worried that COVID-19 cases are increasing locally so you will never know what might happen tomorrow,” he said.

Theetsho said before the lockdown, some athletes were promising.

Furthermore, he said initially their intention was to host two competitions every month in order to give athletes and coaches time to prepare for the qualifiers.

He, however, said this year they would continue with training looking at the growing number of COVID-19 cases, and that they would do away with competitions.

“Despite all these challenges, we are still confident that athletes like Isaac Makwala, Baboloki Thebe, Leungo Scotch and Boitumelo Masilo will hit the qualifying mark to increase our number of athletes to the Olympics,” he said.

BAA assistant national team coach, Kebonyemodisa Mosimanyane had said in a previous interview that during the lockdown the technical team resorted to using WhatsApp to conduct training with athletes.

He said training an athlete to competition speed and back to general speed in one season was not good for athletes.

“That makes an athlete to reach two peaks in one season. I personally do not do multi-periodisation. Athletes have to pick once and go through all competitions, increasing their speed as the season goes on,” he said.

According to Mosimanyane, expectations were that they would go back to track again and prepare for the Olympics and help those who were yet to qualify so that they hit the qualifying mark. Ends