Otsetswe ready to dump Botswana athletics
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday February 21, 2017 14:14
It has been revealed that during his visit, an offer was made to the coach. Otsetswe told Mmegi Sport that time was right for him to make a decision that “adds value to his life”.
“The Zimbabweans showed interest in my services and their offer was convincing. It is now time for the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) to play ball. I have a meeting with them today (yesterday) and after that I will know what to do,” he said.
Otsetswe is one of the best coaches ever to come out of the country after taking charge of such talents as Baboloki Thebe, Karabo Sibanda, Boitumelo Masilo, Isaac Makwala, Nijel Amos and Amantle Montsho among others.
Meanwhile, over the weekend in Lobatse, athletes failed to qualify for the IAAF World Championships slated for August in London. At the moment, only three athletes, Thebe, Amos and Sibanda have qualified.
Otsetswe said the weather was bad for athletics. He said the wind speed was unfavourable. “The wind was pushing and pulling athletes. It means that even if one had clocked the qualifying time, it was not going to be recognised due to the wind,” Otsetswe said.
He said the idea is to have qualifying events every fortnight but the challenge is venues. He said they are currently trying to book a venue for the next series. Otsetswe said the deadline for the qualification is July, but they want local athletes to be done with qualification by June. He said they want enough time in order to come up with a good training programme.
“We do not want to work under pressure. We do not want to arrive at the World championships when anxiety is still high,” he said.
He said women runners who stand a good chance of making it to the competition are Lydia Jele, Amantle Montsho and Christina Botlogetswe. On the men’s side, Masilo and Isaac Makwala are expected to join the ranks.
Otsetswe said Makwala has not competed this year but is doing well in training.