19 Apr 2021

Bad weather and lack of training affected the performance of athletes’ during Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) track and field competitions held on Saturday.

Speaking during an interview, national athletics coach Dose Mosimanyane said windy conditions affected the morning races because athletes found it hard to warm-up well.

He said despite the harsh climatic conditions athletes improved their times in an effort to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The qualifying time for 100m men is 10:05 seconds while the qualifying time for 200m men is 20:24 seconds.

Mosimanyane said he was happy with 200m sprinter Isaac Makwala who improved his time by clocking 20.33 seconds while Letsile Tebogo clocked 20:36 seconds.

He noted that Tebogo clocked 20:56 seconds last month in South Africa, stating that there was room for improvement for both sprinters.

Mosimanyane said he was confident Tebogo would make it to the Olympics.

During the last BAA track and field competition, Tebogo shattered the 100m national record by clocking 10:14 seconds. He clocked 10:39 seconds on Saturday

Mosimanyane said they were still aiming to help more athletes qualify for the Olympics. He also applauded development sides, stating that they enjoyed working with feeders from junior teams
Mosimanyane also said development sides were progressing well and giving their seniors a run for their money.

Meanwhile, Makwala appreciated his build-up. He said he felt happy about his time. “I will qualify for the Olympics,” he said.

Makwala said his time surprised him because his pick period was around May and June.

He also noted that COVID-19 had affected athletes negatively.

He applauded efforts to get them back on track, saying a number of them stood a good chance to qualify.

During the 100m race, Leungo Matlhaku clocked 11.75 seconds to emerge the winner followed by Boitshepiso Kelapile with 12:25 seconds.

Christine Botlogetswe clocked 56:47 seconds in 400 metres to emerge the winner.

During the highly contested 400m senior men, Ditiro Nzamani emerged the winner, clocking 45:74 seconds. He outpaced Leungo Scotch and Zibane Ngori. ENDS