Injury halts Masheto's promising career

FREDERICK KEBADIRETSE
Staff Writer | Friday December 9, 2011 00:00

In his three-year stay as a student at the University of Illinois, Masheto set several track records in addition to receiving honours in the All-America and National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). In his final year in 2010, he was listed 20th overall in Illini of the Decade, an award used to honour successful students in various fields for the past decade. He went on to represent Botswana as a part of the 400 metres-relay team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Masheto last competed at last year's Commonwealth Games in India where he was part of Botswana's 4 x 400 metres-relay team, which finished fifth in the finals.

Masheto returned home after the Commonwealth Games as he had completed his studies in Exercise Kinesiology.

He said he was in the regular Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) national team camp in February this year when he injured his knee while walking.  'At first I thought the injury was minor, but it got worse and I could feel pain whenever I tried to train,' he said. While still in camp, he was taken to the Gaborone Private Hospital (GPH), but the doctors could not determine the actual extent of the injury, only suspecting a meniscus tear.

'They could not say exactly what the injury was as they did not have appropriate equipment like the MRI scan, so I just went back hoping maybe the injury would heal with time,' Masheto said. He said the pain continued and he stopped training completely fearing a disability if he continued pushing himself. At the time he was employed at the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) gym in Gaborone as an instructor. Currently based in Maun as a sport development officer, Masheto said he has almost given up on ever running again as the injury continues to nag him. Though the pain has subsided, he says he still feels bones clogging whenever he tries to run. 'I am just here waiting for a miracle to happen so that I can run again but I do not know when,' he said.

He said since leaving the national team camp, he has not received any help from the BAA and he could not seek any special medical assistance due to financial challenges.

BAA mouthpiece, Ipolokeng Ramatshaba, said they were not aware that Masheto was nursing an injury. 'Look, I am new in the office and he got injured during the tenure of the previous committee, but I think they did something to help him. We have an insurance policy for our athletes here and we help injured national team athletes, so we cannot ignore him,' he said. He said the athlete should communicate with their office through his club and he should get medical assistance. 'If he (Masheto) communicates with our office, I will relay the message during our last executive meeting tomorrow (Saturday),' Ramatshaba said. Meanwhile, Masheto says he is still hopeful of competing and representing the country again one day. He said although he has accomplished so much over a short period in the USA College Sport, he is yet to reach his full potential, as he wants an Olympic medal. Masheto broke into the scene in 2003 as a Form Four student at Tutume McConnel College. He is one of the products of renowned athletics talent scout and coach Adam Sdala Latham who has produced some of the country's finest track stars among them Glody Dube. He was admitted to the University of Botswana (UB) to study Physical Education in 2005.

The following year he competed in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in Australia where he made it to the semi-finals in individual heats. He was also in the 4 x 400 metres-relay team, which included among others Obakeng Ngwigwa. It was at the games that the University of Illinois spotted him before he joined them the following year. At Illinois, he holds the 400m indoor record at 45:80 seconds, 600m as well as a 500m collegiate record. Shoes had his fair share of bad luck during his career, suffering late-season injuries in his final two outdoor seasons while still in the US.