Kebintshipi made the surprise revelation after he qualified for the 200m in the 2025 World Championships to be held in September in Tokyo, Japan. Tipped as the next big thing in the 400m, Kebinatshipi decided to compete in the 200m over the weekend at the FNB Golden Grand Prix. In an unfamiliar terrain, Kebinatshipi stormed to 20.13s in the 200m finishing second in the race which saw him qualify for the World Championships. Fresh from the race, Kebinatshipi revealed his ambitious plans to focus on the 200m and join his compatriot, Letsile Tebogo in the category.
"This is an event that I will be shifting to in two years' time. I think now we are just building onto it because you will not be seeing me anymore in the 400m race ever," Kebinatshipi said. He added that dropping the 400m race in favour of the 200m is a decision that has been well thought by him and his coach and not a sudden change. Although he plans to switch to the 200m in the next two years, Kebinatshipi said he would only do so when is completely ready as he has only started building towards the shift. Regarding the 200m race at the FNB Golden Grand Prix where he stormed to his personal best, the athlete said the plan was just to complete the race and did not think he would qualify for the championships. "It was really a great race on home soil but the plan was not to come and run fast times like this but when I realised the gap between me and the first guy, obviously I had to run a faster time. Nonetheless it is a good thing for me and also my coach," he said.
Speaking on the rest of the plans for the season, Kebinatshipi said he has no massive targets but only to enjoy himself as he represents Botswana in global competitions. "This year we are just having fun to be honest. We are not targeting anything, we are not targeting any fast times. So we will just be doing everything to compete. For instance I just ran 200m instead of 400m," he said. On his fitness ahead of the busy schedule ahead, he said that he is in good shape and there are no injury worries for him. "I am good, I am healthy and that is why I am challenging myself with races like 200m, an event of high risk injuries which uses full speed, so yeah, I am good and healthy," he said.
