Tshireletso’s giant leap into history
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday June 18, 2022 06:00
The African champion has a bright future ahead of him and received glowing praise from the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho during the team Botswana welcome ceremony on Tuesday. Tshireletso won a gold medal in the men’s long jump with a massive 7.82-metre jump. He went on to prove his mettle by stretching himself to a 16.77m leap to scoop silver in the men’s triple jump.
Tshireletso said his interest in the jumps started when he was a student at Machaneng Junior Secondary School between 2005 and 2007.
“But the passion was ignited fully when I was doing Form Four at Shoshong Senior Secondary School. When I got into the national Under-17 team in 2008, with the triple jump, I thought at the time I was not training fully as I combined jumping with football,” he said.
Tshireletso’s first major competition was the 2011 FISU student games that were held in China. By then as a young athlete, he could not handle the pressure and failed to get a podium finish.
In January this year, Tshireletso qualified for the 2022 Africa Senior Championships that were held in Mauritius. “It was my first competition in long jump because I had qualified for the triple jump the previous year. Ahead of the Championships, I did not make any major changes to my training plan. There was no reason for any shake-up because of the plan I had made. I had to focus, that was all. A shift had to be made psychologically because I was up against Africa’s best jumpers,” Tshireletso said. He said when he jetted off to the Cote d’Or National Sports Complex, he was expecting a bronze in the long jump and a silver in the triple jump.
“A very good prediction, I would say,” he added with a blush.
Tshireletso holds a personal best (PB) in long jump of 8.04m and 16.77m for triple jump. Standing at 1.75m, one might think Tshireletso is too short to be a jumper, however, the man has a massive spring in his step. The 31-year-old said the intention is to stick around for the next two Olympics Games and then retire. “I will then focus more on my career as a Structural Engineer focusing more on lecturing and research. I am a lecturer at the University of Botswana,” he said.
Tshireletso said the main challenge he faces is a lack of support. He said not every athlete would remain in the game as long as they do not have support. He suggested that the government must make concessions tax-wise for private entities to be able to help sports. He said people appreciate that sport is a career not a recreational activity anymore.
“Being an African champion has not changed my life, as of yet. I am grateful for the support that I received from Batswana,” he said.
Tshireletso said his role model is former British triple jumper, Jonathan Edwards. He said his coach, London-based Guy Spencer, has always likened his technique to Edwards’. Edwards is an Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion.
FACT FILE
Full names: Thalosang Tshireletso
Sporting code: Athletics
Date of birth: May 14, 1991
Place of birth: Gaborone
Achievement: African champion (long jump) and silver medallist (triple jump)
PB: Long jump (8.04m), Triple jump (16.77m)
Hobbies: I sleep a lot. I train early and go to work, so any chance I get I sleep in order to recover well. I rarely do anything apart from that.
Favourite meal: Bogobe jwa lerotse, madila, and koko ya Setswana. My mother used to cook it on special occasions.