11 Jul 2021

Botswana’s 800 metres runner, Nijel Amos, sent a strong message to his Olympic competitors after he clocked 1:42:91 during Monaco Wanda Diamond League in Monaco on Friday.

Amos claimed position one with in a World Leading (WL) time. 

He attacked from behind leaving Kenyan Emmanuel Korir and Canadian Marco Arop in awe.

As they approached the finishing line, Amos came 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, Amos said he was happy with his Diamond League performance. Although he had not 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 well and come out with the best race I can have on the day,” he said.

Meanwhile, track and field’s analysts were 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, said track and field 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 400m.

He said Sieradzki took them through the first lap in 48:96 which was too quick, adding it was a single file race since the trailing pack were lagging behind with about 10 metres or so in the 500m mark.

Showa said in the 600m mark, Korir started to accelerate and pushed Arop.

However, 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 toes as they battled for the inside lane,” observed Showa.

Amos, he said, did enough to seal the victory with a quick time bettering the previous WL of 1:43.17s by American Clayton Murphy who this time around settled 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  for an 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 almost 5 years. According to Ramoroba, Amos had so much success in the Diamond League races because he had been able to switch off his mind and just run.

Ramoroba said 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 Korir or Arop.

Gunning it out, he said had always been Amos strategy but in this race he was very conservative as he did not chase the pace setter like he always did.

He said this alone was a clear message that Amos want to avoid any mishaps prior to the Olympics as he wanted to reach the games healthy. Ends