Athletes face fitness dilemma
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday April 3, 2020 20:18
Christine Botlogetswe, who has qualified for next year’s Olympic Game said it is going to be difficult, but they have no option but to follow the strict rules and stay home.
“It is made worse by the fact that I do not have a training programme. The gym and stadium are closed so there is nothing I can do,” the 400m athlete said.
Karateka, Christopher Ponatshego said the virus should not be a hindrance, as after it is contained, competition would resume. The Goju Do karate coach said they have come up with ways to keep their karatekas fit.
“At my club, we have created a WhatsApp training group where every morning I post some workouts, which they should do. I give them training programmes on a daily basis. I have also improved the memory of my cellphone in order to store videos that karatekas send as proof that they trained. That is a way of tracking them and I encourage them to continue working out,” he said.
Ponatshego said if there are some who do not follow the programme, there is little he can do about it.
The former national team coach said he has also asked his karatekas to state their weaknesses and strengths. Ponatshego said the idea is that during lockdown they should work on their weak points because 28 days is a long time.
“After the lockdown, I expect all of them to show growth. I do not expect them to be stagnant. We contributed to buy resistant bands so that each of them should have two. The bands are meant to improve their speed and strength,” Ponatshego said.
Weightlifter, Alex Rankgwe said their challenge is that they do not have access to the gym. Rankgwe said the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) had an alternative programme for teams in camp to use the gym, but it was closed on Friday.
“It seems they were told that they are contravening the government’s COVID-19 programme. So we are in limbo, which is sad because our athletes are going to lose a lot of strength,” Rankgwe said.Rugby coach, Shaun Lees said Gaborone Hogs has a WhatsApp platform where they all share fitness ideas.
“We have been sharing ideas on different forms of fitness they can do during this break,” he said.
Lees said their players have been encouraged to keep fit during this time because they do not want to focus too much on fitness when they get back to playing again but rather on polishing up on their game plan, fixing where they got it wrong in the first round of games and working on their strength.
“Players are aware that we would conduct a fitness test when we resume training so I have asked them all to take their fitness seriously. I think they all know that we have two titles to defend, the Super Rugby and President’s Cup. I am confident our players would take their fitness seriously,” he said.
Lees said Hogs women and reserve teams are also eager to win their respective leagues.
“But other than that players are encouraged to be safe and compliant during this fight against COVID-19. This country depends on us being disciplined if we are to win this fight,” Lees added.