03 Aug 2021

When the clock hits 2:05pm today, Botswana will come to a stand still as the sensational Nijel Amos takes to the track in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Amos' much hoped win in the  800m final will be a reason for adrenaline rush and much needed joy to the nation in this era of COVID-19.

The Marobela-born athlete made the nation skip a heartbeat when he tripped in the semi-final on Sunday.

The nation breathed a sigh of relief when he was reinstated minutes later, thanks to Botswana delegation’s tenacious attitude.

In the final, Amos will be up against tried and tested competitors such as Kenya’s duo of Ferguson Rotich and Emmanuel Korir.  The duo is likely to make a ploy against Amos and he will need to be vigilant.

(Also in the lineup are other 800m greats, Australian Peter Bol, American Clayton Murphy,  Gabriel Tual (France), Amel Tuka (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Patryk Dobek (Poland) and Adrian Ben (Spain).

America’s Oregon Track Club head coach, who is also Amos' head coach, Mark Rowland said he hoped the athlete would execute his strategy for a positive outcome.  

He said the athlete would employ different tactics from those used in the semi finals.

Track and field analyst, Aobakwe Showa, said called for employment of new tactics, noting that in the first two races, Amos chose to occupy third or fourth spot for the most part of the race and relied on his sprint on the home straight.

“Perhaps the aim was to reserve more energy for the final, but the tactic nearly cost him a place in the final,” he said.

According to Showa, in 2019 Amos changed his race and employed a front running tactic which paid dividends as he ran 1:41.89s and a couple of 1:42s.

He said if the athlete wanted to fulfil his quest for Olympic glory, he had no choice but to set a fast paced race.

“He is a man who has always excelled on high tempo races, hence his setting of  world leading time of 1:42.91s  in Monaco a few weeks back. There is no doubt about his endurance and finish,” he said.

He said pace judgement could come in handy, noting that perhaps if Amos reserved some energy for the last 50 metres, it would work to his advantage since Rotich always finished strong.

“Rotich arrives in the final full of confidence after recording fast times in both heats and semi-finals. Other main opponents Amos must be wary of is Korir and Bol as well as Murphy,” he said. Ends