The two athletes and the 4x400m relay team are now the darlings of the nation. Usually the frontliners get all the plaudits, leaving out the brains behind the talent. Under-20 assistant coach, Meleko Ndolo has been credited with overseeing the rise of the two athletes. Ndolo gets emotional when he talks about the hard work when it comes to preparations. “We started preparing for the championships during the Botswana Games in 2019. That is where most of the athletes qualified, the likes of Tebogo, Jayson Mandoze and Boitshepiso Kelapile.
The rest of the athletes qualified during the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) series,” he said. Ndolo said they did not get a chance to prepare the team properly due to some challenges such as COVID-19. He said the athletes needed a exposure before competing at the world championships. Ndolo said the athletes could have competed outside the country because competing against local athletes they always triumph against, is not sufficient preparation. He said that led to a decline of the performance in Kenya, citing the 4x100m men’s relay that was disqualified due to a false start. “The stage was big for some of our athletes. When you talk of World Championships, it is not a joke; it is a big stage where all countries are present. The track setup is different so we need them to have exposure before such competitions.
