10 Jul 2021

Botswana's 800-metre runner, Nijel Amos has sent a strong message to his Olympic competitors after he stopped the clock in a World Leading (WL) time of 1:42:91 in a Monaco Wanda Diamond League held in Monaco on July 9.

Amos claimed position one in style as he seemed to have changed his normal race tactics of following the pacesetter throughout. This time he attacked from behind leaving Kenyan Emmanuel Korir and Canadian Marco Arop to do as they pleased in front of him.

As they approached the finishing line, Amos attacked the duo from the outside lane, relegating both Korir and Arop to position two and three with a time of 1:43.04 and 1:43.26 respectively.
In an interview shortly after the race, Amos said he was happy with his Monaco’s Wanda Diamond League performance. Although he admitted that he hadn’t been racing, he said his training had been going well. 

“I knew what I can do. It was just a matter of putting everything together and come out with the best race I can have on the day,” he said.
Meanwhile, track and field analysts are of the view that Amos had given the world what to expect at the Olympics.

The race was expected to be fast and it lived to its expectations as it produced a WL of 1:42.91, said analyst, Aobakwe Showa
He said the first lap was quick and Amos took up a spot behind the pacers, Patryk Sieradzki, Arop and Korir in the first 400 metres.
He said Sieradzki took them through the first lap in 48:96, which was lightning quick, adding that it was a single file race as the trailing pack were lagging behind with about 10 metres or so in the 500m mark.
In the 600 metre mark Korir started motoring and pushed Arop who was still hanging on the land.

He said Amos, however, seemed unbothered by the early break as he followed closely waiting for the right moment to strike.
“It was a toe to toe battle for the three who were leading for the most part of the race as they reached the last bend. Arop was still on the lead and Korir right on his heels as they battled for the inside lane,” observed Showa.
He argued that Amos, who was known for his strong finish, started to accelerate as, together with Korir, surged past Arop with Amos slightly on the lead as the two battled all the way to the finish line.  Amos, he said, did enough to seal the victory with a quick time, bettering the previous WL of 1:43.17 by American Clayton Murphy, who could only settle for the seventh spot.

“It was a perfect race execution and a strong statement for Amos. Monaco has been his happy hunting track and he always produces WL times on the track. He has chosen to limit his races and that paid off really well as he was fresher than the rest, which is an advantage for him in his quest to Olympic gold in Tokyo,” he said. 

Another analyst, Omogolo Ramoroba said because of his exceptional talent and ability to drop fast times when healthy, Amos was one of the sport's biggest enigmas.
He said during regular seasons, Amos had become the world’s most consistent half-miler for the last half decade. According to Ramoroba he had so much success in the Diamond League type of races because he had been able to switch off his mind and just run.
Ramoroba observed that with 150 metres to go, it was clear that a tiring pair of Korir and Arop could no longer hold on, while Amos just switched to lane two in home straight to avoid being blocked by either of the two and powered home.

Gunning it out, he said it had always been Amos strategy, but in this race he was conservative as he did not chase the pace setter like he always did.
He said this alone was a clear message that Amos wanted to avoid any mishaps prior to the Olympics as he wanted to reach the Games healthy.

“He is up to something big, massive, something beyond a gold medal. The task now for Amos is living up to this extraordinary moments when it matters most. Amos has all the talent he needs to win gold for Botswana at Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Friday race made him the favourite to do so,” he said. Ends