Speaking upon his arrival at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport yesterday, he said had he received enough support prior to the games, he could have done better. “If I could have been given enough support prior to the games, I believe I would have done better. The main issue is time. My target was to beat 49 seconds and I could have if I was given the support before the games,” he said. Mabote came fourth in the heats of the 400m T12 partially impaired category with personal best of 51:33 seconds, which is also a national record. He had clocked 54:22 seconds as his qualification time. The Mochudi-born sprinter revealed that he had set a target of podium finish but he was happy to beat his personal best and hopes to improve his time in the future.
For his part, Mabote’s coach Raj Rathedi also bemoaned lack of support but hopes the athlete’s display at the games will help change the situation. “We had our challenges here at home before we left. He did well at the games and was ranked one of the best in Africa before the games. Now he has broken into the World’s top 16. So despite all these challenges he has done well and we have achieved our initial target,” he said.
