Dintwe defies odds with record-breaking feat
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday April 8, 2016 14:24
The feat was achieved despite Dintwe suffering a career-threatening injury which took three years to heal.
Her grip on local races came to the fore on Sunday when she clinched the 21.1km race, in the process lifting a veil of gloom after foreign runners had dominated the day at the Diacore Marathon.
She is a track goddess who becomes possessed by a ‘running spirit’ when the trigger is pulled. The 30-year-old is slowly spreading her local dominance to the rest of the region after her recent exploits.
Dintwe began her athletics journey with her twin sister, Onneetse, who later decided to dump the track and focus on farming.
The Kanye-born runner gave Batswana a reason to cheer when she won the annual 21km Diacore Gaborone Marathon over the weekend. She finished the race in a time of 1:17:00secs. She told Mmegi Sport after the race that she was motivated by Malebogo Raditladi to become an athlete in 2004. She said ever since that time, she had not looked back.
Dintwe started representing the country in 2001 and has broken the 21.1km record seven times.
“I suffered a back injury that took three years to heal. The injury did not stop me from returning to the track. In December 2014, I started doing light training and competing in local races to gain my confidence. I had to be cautious,” she said. Dintwe said she failed to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games due to the injury. She feels that she does not have strong competition locally hence she decided to participate in South African marathons. Dintwe finished second in the 2016 Old Mutual Two Oceans marathon with a time of 1:17:00. She said her aim is to reduce her time to 1:10:00secs. She said her coach has been playing a major role in advising her on running techniques. A member of Nedbank running club in South Africa, Dintwe said her focus is now on the upcoming Spar women’s league that starts this month in Cape Town.
Dintwe said staying in Kanye is an advantage because the area has challenging landscape when compared to Gaborone. She said due to the undulating terrain around the village, she is able to do proper training.
Meanwhile, Dintwe will launch Divine Grace Athletics Club targeting the youth in Kanye in September.
“The project is meant to develop long distance runners. I want to give back to the community that has been supporting me throughout my career,” said Dintwe.
Fact File:
Full names: Onneile Dintwe
Date of birth: 30/09/1985
Place of birth: Kanye
Sport: Athletics
Club: Nedbank Running Club
Favourite food: Phaleche & meat