The end is near
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday July 23, 2022 06:00
Makwala will now represent Botswana for the last time in the men’s 4x400m relay team at the ongoing World Athletics Championships.
Makwala was scheduled to compete in the men’s 400m at the Commonwealth Games.
He said he is now shifting focus to the Diamond League events after failing to progress to the 400m final at the World Championships. Makwala said his target is the Diamond League final, which will be held in Zurich in September. Makwala has accumulated 14 points after competing in four events and is ranked number three. “I will be representing the country for the last time during the 4x400m relay.
From here, I will be focusing on the Diamond League and the final,” he told Mmegi Sport yesterday. Makwala had a tough semi final in the 400m race, which saw him finishing last with a time of 46.04.
He said the outcome of the race did not come as a surprise to him. “I cannot complain because it is what I expected. I knew it might end this way looking at how my season was.
I knew that I was going to have difficulties to run fast during the World Championships,” he said. Makwala said the absence of his coach, Justice Dipeba in Oregon, the United States has had a negative impact on him. The coach was part of the World Athletics Championships team but plans were changed at the last minute, as he had to travel with the Commonwealth Games team to Birmingham, the United Kingdom.
The athletics team was left in the hands of Kebonyemodisa Mosimanyane. “His absence affected me a lot. I guess people who took the decision for him not to be here knew what they were doing,” he said. A career that started in 2006 is coming to an end in December and unfortunately, Makwala hangs up his spikes without a medal from the World Championships.