25 Jan 2023

Lefika Athletics Club will host World Athletics qualifying relays in Gaborone April 1.

Qualifying relays will be held in Africa for the first time, therefore the event is expected to attract several countries.

A media release from Lefika says originally, the event was to be used to qualify for Guangzhou, China world athletics relays that were supposed to be held May, but have since been postponed to 2025.

After realising that opportunities have been limited in Africa thus forcing athletes to go to Europe or other parts of the world for World Athletics qualifying relays, Lefika applied to host.

The release says the intention is to have the relays annually and to be accredited by World Athletics, initially as a Continental Tour event with the expectation for it to grow and ultimately attain high status such as gold rating.

The categories of the qualifying relays are 4x100m men and women, 4x400m men and women, 4x200m men and women, 4x800m men and women 4 x 400m men and women, mixed relays.

Other events are 100m hurdles women, 110m hurdles men, 400 hurdles men and women and 3000m steeple chase men.

The release indicates that hurdles and steeple chase are technical events in which athletes from the continent are not performing well, so the duo has been added to the event in order to help athletes improve.

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA), vice president Oabona Theetso said in an interview that he was happy one of their affiliates found it prudent to host a competition of such magnitude.

He said hosting the relay would give the country an added advantage to field different teams, amongst them 4x100m, 4x200m and 4x800m without cost implications.

Theetso said the competition would help BAA prepare the 4x400 metres mixed team, which they intended to send to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19-27.

He said expectations were that the team would qualify for the world championships on home soil.“Should we make it to the World Championships and make it to top eight, we would automatically qualify for the World Relays,” he said.

He said the country’s economy and sport tourism would also benefit from the relays with many athletes coming to Botswana. ENDS