Hurdles making strides in local sports
The Golden Door Sports Agency meet which was held at the National Stadium over this past weekend saw hurdlers record impressive times, with Victor Ntweng setting a new national record.
The Maun BDF athletics club athlete won the 400m hurdles with a time of 49.80, a national record time which also qualified him for the African Athletics Championships slated for Mauritius in June.
Keitumetse Maiteo came second, clocking a time of 49.91, with Frecky Tshotlego occupying the 3rd spot with 52.54.
Considering the times registered by the hurdlers in a season opener event, there is great positivity and optimism surrounding success prospects in hurdles.
Former national hurdles record holder, Daniel Leagamang has lauded the recent impressive performances of hurdlers and added that it will not be a surprise if one of the local athletes get a podium finish in a world event in the near future.
“The hurdles in Botswana have now taken a different turn, South Africa used to dominate. Currently, we have three ( 3) guys who are registering impressive times which shows that we will be more competitive and I am excited about it. We still have about three ( 3) to four ( 4) months to improve and I’m confident that our guys will qualify for African Championships and many more other events,” Leagamang said.
Leagamang held the 400m hurdles record for 11 years until it was broken this past weekend, his 800m record was also broken by Nijel Amos in 2011.
Botswana has been dominating in the 400m and 800m events with Nijel Amos, Isaac Makwala, Amantle Montsho and the 4X4 relay team doing wonders in world event competitions.
Leagamang said he had to convince some athletes to compete in hurdles as there is currently an influx of athletes in the aforementioned races.
“There is a bit of overcrowding in the 400m flat category, so I had to engage some athletes and convince them to start doing hurdles to revive competition and ensure that the local events cater for it. We have been working with some athletes since last year to improve their technique and I think we have made incredible strides in the development of these athletes, the results are showing,” he said.
Botswana Athletics Association ( BAA) and Botswana National Olympic Committee joined forces, a pact which saw Leagamang become one of the beneficiaries of elite scholarship in 2013.
Through the programme he was also able to attain his coaching badges, a significant stride in relation to the development of hurdles as most local athletes are feeding from the palm of his hand.
He however, said lack of school sport is putting a serious dent for local clubs and coaches to identify and develop potential talents.
“We have a challenge in terms of getting athletes. It is imperative to develop talent at a tender age but since there is no school sport or BISA competitions, it is extremely difficult
to identify talents. It has been a serious challenge, I am currently working with a small group of athletes but generally I would love to work and train a pool of athletes,” he said.
Leagamang further called on BAA to engage former athletes to drive their development mandate.
“The other challenge is that most of our former athletes are not involved in the development structures; in South Africa, most former athletes are heavily contributing to the development programmes. I don’t want to blame former athletes but I want to blame the association, they have not done enough to ensure that we engage the experiences of former athletes to enhance development,” he concluded.