23 Aug 2022

For athletes to excel in international competitions, there is need for through investigations to establish why sportspersons’ retention continues to be a challenge to Botswana Athletics Association (BAA).  

In an interview athletics coach, Chilume Ntshwarang said BAA’s norm of introducing new athletes  in almost every major competition was a concern that required researchers’ intervention.

“It is not healthy to be introducing new athletes every competition, where is consistency?

I know some will argue that it is good for development, which is undisputable.

But it is important to be done strategically. When we introduce the new ones, the old one must be there, so that they learn from them,” he said.

Ntshwarang said the athletes, who were competing at the World Relays in Poland last year, were a different team  from the one that competed at the Olympics.

The coach said the absence of some sprinters from treasured meets  should be a concern to the association and cited that Botswana’s sensational sprinter Baboloki Thebe only resurfaced at the Olympics while Karabo Sibanda was nowhere to be found from major meets.

He said had the two runners made it to the Commonwealth Games, no team could have stopped Botswana.

The coach said consistency and continuity were key in athletics growth.

He said American athlete, Michael Norman, who was competing together with Thebe and Sibanda at the junior level, was still active and bringing results.

“Look at Jamaican Christopher Taylor who also competed with the duo in 2015 in Cali, he had a setback back and is back on track,” he said.

Ntshwarang, therefore, said Botswana should also find a way of rehabilitating athletes so that they could recover and go back to competing.

“As a country what are we doing to help Karabo, do we really know what his problem is, why can’t we take this boy to neighbouring countries. South Africa has the best medical facilities,” he said.

The coach said if the country managed to retain Sibanda and Thebe, to join the current crop of athletes, Botswana was going to make a mark in relays and the 400 metres individual.

He, however, said he was also of the view that the country’s social structure had a negative impact on the athletes.

Ntshwarang said a proper setup would even guide how an athlete faired during and off season, unlike now where the athletes are living anyhow without any restrictions. ENDS