02 Jun 2021

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) will host a track and field event at the National Stadium on June 12.

This would accord athletes another opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games ahead of the June 29 closing date for qualifiers.

BAA vice president, Oabona Theetso, said in an interview that the meet was also intended to prepare for the upcoming Africa Senior Championships.

He said they had initially projected that at least 18 athletes would qualify for the Olympics, but those plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theetso said they had anticipated that all their relay teams would have qualified for the Olympics.

Only Nijel Amos, Isaac Makwala, Amantle Montsho, Christene Botlogetswe and Galefele Moroko have qualified so far.

He said they were also frustrated by the lack of support from other stakeholders.

Theetso said they had been depending on the Botswana National Olympic Committee to finance such events.

On other issues, he said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs would be allowed to register a maximum of three athletes,per event, per category.

He said athletes and team officials would not be allowed access to the seating area, while athletes shall be ushered out of the competition area immediately after completing their races. ENDS