Amos back on right track
Thato Kala | Friday January 17, 2014 16:06
Amos back
on right trackTHATO KALA
Correspondent
I
t looks Nijel Amos is back at what he does best, athletics after a controversial year that saw him turn to music. The 2012 Olympics silver medallist is said to be settling in well at the FNB High Performance Institute of Sport Potchefstroom Centre under the tutelage of his mentor Jean Verster.
Initially Amos was against going back to Potchefstroom and after a lengthy stay in Botswana his career seemed to hit a downward spiral.
Amos' star was waning and he was attracting a lot of negative media reports because he seemed to be focusing more on the music scene, dedicating most of his time to deejaying.
Recently a team of sports officials comprising Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) first vice president Moses Moruisi, Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) vice president Glody Dube and Athletes' Commission chairperson Master Luza visited Potchefstroom to check on the youngster and came back pleased with his progress.
'He is doing fine in South Africa. When his coach came for a press conference they spoke and it was great. He went back,' said Moruisi.
Although Moruisi would not reveal Amos' next destination, indications are that he could be going to the United States (US).
BNOC clashed with BAA over his next destination late last year with the former favouring a move to Ethiopia. 'We are working on that, he came here and there were issues with the coach and those were resolved,' Moruisi said, stressing the athlete was happy with the current arrangement.
He said Amos was fit after recovering from a hamstring injury that sidelined him from the 2013 World Championships. Moruisi said he was unaware whether Amos would start competing any time soon.Verster is a highly rated coach who has worked with with 800 metres World Champion Hezekiel Sepeng, Olympic finalist Glody Dube and London 2012 800 metres semi-finalist, Andre Olivier.
Potchefstroom, an average sized highveld town in the North West Province, is fast becoming a fashionable destination for Europe's top athletes who come south when the European winters set in.
The centre where Amos trains is a multifunctional and multi-disciplinary facility better described as a 'one-stop' shop for elite high performance athletes as well as for sports developmen The 2012 Olympics silver medallist is said to be settling in well at the FNB High Performance Institute of Sport Potchefstroom Centre under the tutelage of his mentor Jean Verster.Initially Amos was against going back to Potchefstroom and after a lengthy stay in Botswana his career seemed to hit a downward spiral. Amos' star was waning and he was attracting a lot of negative media reports because he seemed to be focusing more on the music scene, dedicating most of his time to deejaying.
Recently a team of sports officials comprising Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) first vice president Moses Moruisi, Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) vice president Glody Dube and Athletes' Commission chairperson Master Luza visited Potchefstroom to check on the youngster and came back pleased with his progress. 'He is doing fine in South Africa. When his coach came for a press conference they spoke and it was great. He went back,' said Moruisi. Although Moruisi would not reveal Amos' next destination, indications are that he could be going to the United States (US).BNOC clashed with BAA over his next destination late last year with the former favouring a move to Ethiopia. 'We are working on that, he came here and there were issues with the coach and those were resolved,' Moruisi said, stressing the athlete was happy with the current arrangement. He said Amos was fit after recovering from a hamstring injury that sidelined him from the 2013 World Championships. Moruisi said he was unaware whether Amos would start competing any time soon.Verster is a highly rated coach who has worked with with 800 metres World Champion Hezekiel Sepeng, Olympic finalist Glody Dube and London 2012 800 metres semi-finalist, Andre Olivier.
Potchefstroom, an average sized highveld town in the North West Province, is fast becoming a fashionable destination for Europe's top athletes who come south when the European winters set in.
The centre where Amos trains is a multifunctional and multi-disciplinary facility better described as a 'one-stop' shop for elite high performance athletes as well as for sports development.