Athletics season begins

16 Jan 2025

The Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) has released their 2025 events calendar.

BAA vice president - administration, Oabona Theetso said this is an appropriate time for the athletes to use the events to gain momentum of the season.

He added that the track and fields events would be used as qualifiers for the bigger events hosted by the two Asian countries such as the 2025 World Relay (WRE) and the 2025 World Athletics Championships to be hosted in China and Japan respectively.

Theetso said this is a fundamental opportunity to see new faces rising to the occasion to augment the numbers of the fastest local runners in the country such as the Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, Baboloki Thebe and the likes, who were yet to qualify for this year’s biggest events in the international athletics calendar.

He said the BAA was eyeing to qualify for the 2025 WRE set to take place on May 10-11 in Guangzhou, China, while the 2025 World Athletics Championships were scheduled for September in Tokyo, Japan.

The athletes are spoilt for choice as the calendar is dominated by cross-country events, track and field events organised by clubs as as well the BAA.

Despite that the 2025 schedule seems to be so congested, Theetso said athletes should not overwork themselves by participating in many events, saying that would exhaust them.

Opening the calendar will be the Lefika Athletics Club marathon that will be hosted in Kopong this Saturday parallel to the Orapa Athletics Club marathon that will be staged in Letlhakane.

Wrapping up the January athletics schedule will be the JAC Challenge and the BAA National Cross Country final to be contested on the weekend of January 25 and 26 in Lobatse and Serowe respectively.

Theetso also revealed that the BAA has Debswana as their main sponsor. ENDS

Source : BOPA

Author : Keetile Bontsibokae

Location : Molepolole

Event : Interview

Date : 16 Jan 2025