02 May 2022

World Athletics and Confederation of African Athletics technical delegate, Enias Nhoro is optimistic about Gaborone International Meet being upgraded from bronze to a higher status given the execution of its weekend meet.  

Giving an overview post GIM World Athletics Continental Tour-Bronze in Gaborone on Saturday, Nhoro said it was without a doubt that Botswana successfully delivered the event.

In his short stay in the country he was impressed by the efforts put in by the organisers in preparation for the meet, which in his opinion was a success.

“The competition went as expected, and I want to thank the countries and clubs that participated in the GIM as they came in numbers. 

We had a lot of athletes, while the spectators cannot go unmentioned,” he said.

Nhoro said the competition was a target and the way it was presented would therefore determine which status it would be given for next year given its current Bronze category.  

Nhoro is confident that the GIM would come out of the bronze, adding that he would be happy if it could skip silver and go straight to the gold status.

The technical delegate said if the meet was in gold, Southern region would have one of the premier event through the GIM.

“I also want to thank the athletes, the performance that we witnessed was of high quality and the youngster Tebogo Letsile, who ran a sub 10 is gold in the making. 

If nurtured well we are going to have number two Usain Bolt in the world.”

He said Letsile had the structure, pace and everything essential in breaking world records.

Nhoro, therefore, appealed to sponsors to associate with athletics, given its knack to yield good results.

He said the sponsors support would come in handy in producing world champions, adding that it was heart-warming to realise the results of one’s efforts.

Nhoro hailed Mascom Network and other sponsors for seeing it fit to associate with GIM, a smart move that he said they would be remembered for, should GIM be given a silver or gold status.

He also hailed Botswana National Sport Commission for the support they afforded the event, especially that athletics had prospects of producing medals in international meets such as the World Championships and Olympics.

Kip Keino, Classic Continental Tour organiser, Martin Keino said he was happy with the event organisation.

“A lot of things were done correctly, though they could improve on a few things. 

The Stadium is in a good condition, equipment is functioning well, and they have ticked all the boxes in terms of infrastructure.”

He said support from government and private sector and the quality of athletes a meet attracted differentiated a gold from a bronze meet.

Kenya’s Olympic legend Kip Keino’s son said it was paramount that all stakeholders increased their support for GIM, as it required more investment to rope a top athlete in the meet.

He advised GIM organisers to start preparations early and solicit more sponsors to lure more top athletes to thier next edition. BOPA