Tebogo is flying: who will be his companion?
Calistus Kolantsho - Mqondisi Dube | Saturday February 25, 2023 06:00
Botswana’s more than a decade-long sparkling period on the track can be traced back to one of the country’s finest moments at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in 2011.
Although there had been near-misses before then, notably Glody Dube reaching the finals of the 800m in Sidney in 2000, the wheels of success only started to turn convincingly 11 years later.
In Daegu, Amantle Montsho was confirmed as a world champion after beating a star-studded women’s 400m field. It was Botswana’s finest sporting moment since the country’s independence in 1966.
From then, the floodgates of success opened as months later on a freezing night in August 2012, Botswana landed its first ever Olympic Games medal. Amos was the new kid on the block as he joined Montsho as a genuinely world-class talent. The weight of expectation was removed from Montsho’s shoulders.
Then a late bloomer, Isaac Makwala joined the duo as he caught the attention of the world with his heroics at the 2017 World Championships in London. From then, athletics went on a medal-harvesting spree down under as the team performed admirably at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.
The load was spread as Montsho and her relay team struck gold and the same applied to Makwala and the 4x400m relay team. It remains Botswana’s best-ever performance at a Commonwealth Games competition.
With Amos, Makwala and Montsho leading an enthusiastic team, there was no short of inspiration. But as the sun has set on Montsho and Makwala’s glittering careers, with Amos’ future uncertain, the heavy load of expectation has shifted to 20-year-old Letsile. Last week, on his return to international competition, he showed he has not lost any of the touches that thrust him into the global limelight, particularly at the World Junior Championships which were held in Columbia. It was in Columbia that Tebogo battered the world junior 100m record, forcing pundits to draw comparisons with peerless Jamaican, Usain Bolt.
Letsile proved he is more than ready to take over the mettle with another stunner over the weekend at the Curro Simbine Classic Shootout held in South Africa. He set a personal best (PB) in 300m, stopping the clock at 31.52s. He is by miles the best sprinter in the country at the moment and he stands a chance of dominating the shortest distances for the next decade.
Letsile has already stamped his ticket for Budapest World Athletics Championships scheduled for August.
A podium finish is expected from Tebogo in the 100m as he graduates from junior competitions to rub shoulders with the big boys.
He will also use the season to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the nation will rally behind him to bring a second medal after Amos’ heroics more than a decade ago. Letsile would hope that, like Montsho, support at the other end will arrive as soon as possible with an exciting athletics season on the cards.
Bayapo Ndori has reached his peak after he pulled a shocker at the 2022 Oregon World Athletics Championships to reach the 400m final. He is expected to continue doing well at the next edition of the World Championships.
The relay teams stand a good chance but there are reports that the jostling for positions in the national team has given birth to some ugly altercations. Anthony Pesela remains a dark horse despite a good start to his career. The athlete will compete as a senior this year and intends to race the 200m, which will be a tough call considering he needs to run 10.3 to do well in the 200m.
Ditiro Nzamani is another athlete who is yet to blossom. Collen Kebinatshipi and Obakeng Kamberuka have a bright future ahead of them after the two qualified for Africa Junior Championships in Zambia this April.
There is also good news after veterans, Karabo Sibanda and Baboloki Thebe returned to training, giving hope the load for glory could be spread.