29 Aug 2022

The name Collen Kebinatshipi may not be familiar to some, but he is a 400 metres runner of note.

Born 18 years ago in Hukuntsi, he started running for leisure when doing Standard Seven in Puthisutlha Primary School in Lotlhakane, but when he was doing Form Two in Mookami Junior Secondary School he made a breakthrough in athletics.

“I had a desire to compete when I was doing Form One, but we had a better athlete and it was very difficult for me to make a breakthrough in the team,” he said.

When doing Form Two, he make it to the 100 metres hurdles team and consequently qualified for the Confederation of Southern African Sports Association (COSASA).

At COSASA, he won a bronze medal in 100 metres hurdles, but as time went on he shifted to 400m hurdles, but he did not last long as he got injured and ultimately dropped the hurdles.

“We then tried 400 metres flat and I competed my first race last year at the National Stadium where I clocked 49s. I went back to training with a lot of hope because I was very comfortable with the race,” he said.

In December last year, he competed once again in 400 metres in Region 5 Games in Lesotho, but he was given a strong word by his coach, Chilume Ntshwarang to  qualify for the 2022 Cali World Junior.

Kebinatshipi did not disappoint as he ran 47.21, which was a qualifying mark for the World Junior Championships.

In March in Francistown, he ran his personal best (PB) of 46.08, after two weeks in Gaborone he ran a new personal best of 46.06.

Kebinatshipi continued to shine at the Gaborone International Meet where he stopped the clock in his current PB45.40, which ranked him position two in the world in the junior category.

Because he was ranked number two, he qualified for the Africa Senior Championships and competed in the mixed relay team and 4 x 400 men’s that won two gold medals.

In Cali during the World Junior Championships, Kebinatshipi  made it to the final where he finished on position four, but was later disqualified for lane infringement.

“I was a little bit frustrated but my coach told me it was not the end of the world and it was part of the game. He advised me to take that as a lesson,” he said.

For his part, Ntshwarang said Kebinatshipi was a special athlete and he would go far in athletics.

The athlete, he said, was committed, adding his work ethic was top notch given that he always followed instructions.

“I am expecting a lot from him, and what gives me hope is that at training he is very committed,” he said.

Ntshwarang said the athlete was versatile in terms of approaching his races, adding he was capable of changing race patterns.

“He can approach the race slow and the plan will work for him. If there is need for him to attack, he would attack. For example you should watch the way he ran his heat during the World Junior Championships in Cali, he was a bit slow, but he qualified for the next stage,” he said.

Therefore, Ntshwarang said an upcoming athlete like Kebinatshipi should be well taken care of, so that they could stay in athletics for a long time.

He said institutions like the University of Botswana should be fully utilised.

The coach said UB had high performance centre with all sport experts and therefore it was important to also establish why it was difficult to retain the athletes for a longer period of time. ENDS