29 Oct 2025

Athletes testing in Botswana has been largely centred around members of the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA). However, National Anti-Doping Coordinator, Fred Seno, says the focus has now broadened to include other sporting codes such as boxing, swimming, and rugby.

Speaking at the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) elective general assembly  recently, Seno said testing in 2025 had mainly concentrated on improving out-of-competition (OOC) testing in athletics.

He emphasised that anti-doping education remained the most crucial element of the programme, noting that workshops and outreach activities would continue to be conducted with various national sport federations.

Between January and October 2025, a total of 139 doping control tests and 12 education and awareness activities were carried out. During this period, seven Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) were detected, four involving male and two female athletes.

Seno revealed that four of the seven cases had been finalised, with each athlete receiving a three-year ban for the presence of anabolic steroids. The remaining three cases are still under review in accordance with results management procedures.

Seno said BNOC continued to implement comprehensive anti-doping education and awareness initiatives aimed at promoting clean sport and encouraging athlete participation in anti-doping activities.

“Stakeholder engagement remains crucial in the fight against doping, as it fosters a united front and reinforces the message that clean sport is the only sport that will be accepted and celebrated,” he said.

Seno stressed that collaboration among all partners was vital to preserve the integrity of sport, safeguard athletes’ health, and uphold the values of fairness and respect in competition.

He added that anti-doping education programmes had reached several sporting codes and major events, including the BAA Athletics Meet Series, BAA National Championships, Botswana Softball Association tournaments, the BTC Marathon, FNB Kazungula Bridge Marathon, Business Botswana Northern Trade Fair, FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix, Lawn Bowls National Championships, Rugby 7s Tournament, Women’s Football (The Mares), and Team Botswana’s AUSC participation.

Seno further said that education, defined as the process of raising awareness, informing, instilling values, and building decision-making skills remained the most important pillar in preventing both intentional and unintentional doping violations. ENDS