Team Botswana has managed to scoop three bronze medals from swimming, athletics and boxing at the just ended Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) at Nassau, Bahamas.
The games which started from July 18 to 23 were said to be a success.
Botswana got a great start at the games as James Freeman clinched a bronze medal in the Men 1 500m Freestyle swimming.
The bronze was an historic one for Botswana, making it the first ever medal the country has won in the swimming pools at the Commonwealth Games, both at junior and senior level.
Freeman could, however, not add to his medal haul as he failed to make it to the finals of the men’s 200m butterfly event, having finished fifth in the heats.
Botswana’s second bronze came from young boxer Brian Galelemogwe, who made it into the semifinals of the boys’ 64kg category.
Having breezed past Bahamas’ Lenox Larenza Boyce Jnr. in the quarterfinals, the youngster could, however, not make the finals as he lost out to Wales’ Jacob Lovell, with the referee stopping the contest on the second round of the bout.
Botswana’s third and last medal of the Games was garnered in the athletics track field courtesy of the 4x200m mixed relay.
Made up of Mothusi Boitshwarelo, Phodiso Rampa, Rose Sanane and Oarabile Tshosa, the team from athletics got position three in what seemed like an impossible win for the country.
Despite not winning further medals, there were a lot of positives for team Botswana as local athletes made it to the finals.
Oarabile Tshosa surprised many, including herself, as she made the finals of the girls’ 200m. In her face book timeline, an elated Tshosa said: “For the first time in history I made it to the 200m finals.” Despite her elation, Tshosa’s medal dream at the Games was however brought to an end in the finals where she finished seventh.
Botswana also made the finals in the boys’ 400m with two athletes, Bernard Olesitse and Omphile Ntaolang making the cut.
It was, however, not to be for Botswana as Olesitse and Ntaolang finished sixth and eighth respectively in the finals.
Commenting on the team’s performance, team Botswana’s Chef de Mission (CDM), Master Luza said while not content with the medal return, he was happy with the overall team performance.
“In a competition, one can never be content with what they get, but I am happy as we reached the finals in almost all events,” Luza said.
The team Botswana CDM pointed out that considering the weather conditions, his charges did well. “It was very competitive, with heat and humidity, especially in outdoor sports, being a challenge,” he added.
“I am happy with the results looking at the experience of the team. Given two more years, this team will bring great results,” he concluded.
The team is expected to arrive back in the country today (Wednesday).
