The Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) will be sending a very strong 18 athlete team to the All Africa Games (AAG) in Maputo.
The team selection was finalised in the past weekend when the athletes came face to face at the Orapa meet.
Most of the team’s athletes, comprised of experienced athletes and upcoming young talent, left for Swaziland on Thursday for a three-week training camp while others, including the country’s star athlete, Amantle Montsho, are expected join later.
Amantle’s inclusion in the team now clears the uncertainty over her availability to represent the country at the games, given her busy schedule.
The athlete is expected to compete at the World Championships in Daigu, Korea, from the 27th to the 4th August, then compete in the AAG before jetting off back to Europe for the finals of the Samsung Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium, on the 16th of September.
“We have been in touch with Amantle’s coach and he has agreed to let her compete at the Africa games.
Amantle will, from the World Championships, fly straight to Mozambique for the AAG and immediately after the 400 metres final fly back to Europe for the final IAAF Diamond league meet in Brussels,” BAA Public Relations Officer, Ipolokeng Ramatshaba, said in an interview with Standard Sport.
The BAA PRO says as such, Amantle will not be part of Botswana’s 400 by 400 women’s team at the All Africa Games, of which she is a major cog. The Brussels final Diamond League meet may be the penultimate for Amantle as she is online to win the 400 metres category after amassing an unassailable 20 points, twelve points ahead of her nearest competitors with only four points left to fight for.
Meanwhile, Ramatshaba says the Orapa meet was very successful and gave the association a glimpse at the athletes’ potential to grab medals at the AAG.
“We had a very successful meet and our athletes, more especially the 400 metres were very impressive and three of them, Pako Seribe, Isaac Makwala and Zechariah Kamberuka, clocked 45 seconds while Thapelo Ketlogetswe made 46 seconds.
These are the times we did with the team that won the 400 m by 400m relay back in 2003 and we are very happy with this,” the BAA PRO said. To top it all up, Ramatshaba added that Seribe, who posted an impressive time of 45.41 seconds to win the race, has now qualified for the World Championships.
“We have already sent his times to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and we will be awaiting their response to know whether he will accompany Amantle to the World Championships,” Ramatshaba said.
Another athlete who is expected to meet up with the team at later stages is German-based high jumper, Kabelo Kgosiemang. Botswana’s athletics team at the games will include, among others, sprinters Fanuel Kenosi and Lydia Mushila as well as junior athletes, Nigel Amos and Leungo Matlhaku, who are expected to compete at the Commonwealth Youth Championships on the Isle of Man immediately after the All Africa Games.
