BNOC appeal for more Olympic funding

Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday March 1, 2016 14:43

 

Rio 2016 chef de mission, Moses Moruisi told a press conference yesterday that despite the government grant, Olympic Solidarity (OS) has been supporting BNOC since 2013 through a series of athlete preparations for Rio 2016.

The OS programmes include the Rio 2016 scholarships amounting to P1.3 million, team support grant of P600, 000, special grant of P1 million, continental grant of P1.7 million, travel subsidies of P300, 000 and Rio administration logistics of P400, 000.

Moruisi said at the moment three athletes have qualified for the games. They are Nigel Amos (800m), Isaac Makwala (400m) and Onkabetse Nkobolo (400m).

“Amos and Makwala are holders of the Rio 2016 Olympic Solidarity Scholarships therefore their preparations started back in 2013,” he said.

He said Botswana has secured a place in the men’s 4x400m relay and the team would comprise the best six 400m runners in the country at the time of selection just before the games.

Amos is training in Potchefstroom (South Africa), Makwala is in Botswana while Nkobolo is based in Spain. Moruisi said later this year, the trio will move to Europe to compete in a few international meets before Rio.

He said select athletes and teams, mainly from athletics, boxing, judo and swimming are being supported to train and attempt to qualify for the Olympics.

“Our best ever Olympic performance at Olympics is a silver medal in 2012,” he revealed.

“For 2016, our plan is to beat that, both in terms of numbers and type of medal as well as the number of finals reached by our athletes. We are aiming for two medals.”

Meanwhile, BNOC chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho said they will be sending someone to check on the progress of Nkobolo in Spain. The BONC recently visited Amos in South Africa as part of their robust monitoring programme. He said the number of medals is set depending on the quality of athletes.

He said other countries are also strategising for Botswana at the games.  Serufho said Batswana should be realistic when setting targets.