13 Jul 2026

Although the global track and the field community is talking about Botswana’s 400-metre sensation Collen Kebinatshipi breaking the world record, his own coaching team has deliberately chosen to stay out of the conversation.

Fans and sports media started the conversation after his race at the Monaco Diamond League where he won the event with a Diamond League Record, Meeting Record, and National Record of 43.44 seconds, a performance that made the 22-year-old sprinter the sixth-fastest man in history in 400m.

Now, onlookers everywhere expect him to challenge Wayde van Niekerk’s legendary world record of 43.03 seconds. 

However, his coach Chilume ‘Chippa’ Ntshwarang has made it clear that chasing the world record was not their main priority right now.  

Ntshwarang said the athlete’s physical fitness was currently at its highest level, adding that the primary goal right now was for Kebinatshipi to run and enjoy competing on the international athletic circuit.

The coach said that while the runner’s body condition was perfectly positioned to drop even faster times, they currently had no world record discussions inside their training camp. 

Furthermore, he said their running approach was an evolving strategy, testing different methods to gauge what worked best for them on the track. 

According to Ntshwarang, the athlete used to come out of the starting blocks very fast in his past races, adding that this year, they decided to try a different tactic by controlling the first 200m of the race first, allowing Kebinatshipi to save enough energy to produce a much stronger finish at the very end. 

“We are currently trying different approaches to see what can work best for us, but currently I can say all the strategies are working for us,” he said.

As it stands, this silence is a careful choice designed to protect the 22-year-old runner. While pundits debate the numbers and mathematical projections, the coaching staff chooses to stay quiet, given that the heavy pressure of chasing historical times can easily hurt an athlete’s physical and mental progress. 

By staying out of the public debate, Kebinatshipi’s team keeps him focused on long-term success rather than quick fame.

Ntshwarang said their daily training centred entirely on basic race tactics, physical fitness, and steady improvement. 

In the same Monaco meet, fellow Botswana star, Letsile Tebogo also competed, finishing fifth with a time of 10.04 seconds in the 100m event. ENDS