Sparks expected as athletes clash
Sparks are expected to fly tomorrow at the Lobatse Sports Complex as the road to key international competitions begins. Amongst high profile events on the athletics calendar are the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, Africa Junior Championships, African Games and Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers.
The Jwaneng track and field challenge is the first athletics event of the year with competitors expected to use the tournament to give a forecast of the upcoming season. One of the organisers, Chilume Ntshwarang told Mmegi Sport that through the assistance of Botswana Athletics Association (BAA), they secured the stadium.
“Registration of athletes was closed last week and we received good numbers. The challenge that remains is to sell this event to the public in order to make some profit for the club,” he said.
Ntshwarang added that they expect to see the progress of the athletes after the festive break and see how they have prepared in the first phase of the competition. He said the event would also give coaches an opportunity to identify areas where they should focus on. He said they also expect to see athletes that will be returning to competition after missing out last year. “We expect stiff competition because the times that athletes will clock can indicate how far an athlete has progressed, where they are and what needs to be done to improve moving forward. We came up with this event to assist coaches to plan accordingly because if we held it later when the season had started, it is impossible to go back to the drawing board. Events such as 300m assist athletes who run 100m or 200m in speed and endurance. Those that run 400m can use 600m for endurance,” he said.
More than 300 athletes have registered for the event and some of the top athletes include Lydia Jele (University of Botswana Athletics Club), Loungo Matlhaku ( Jwaneng), Anthony Pesela (Maun BDF), Zibani Ngozi, Phenyo Majama (Jwaneng), Pako Seribe, Thuto Masasa and Clifton Meshack (all Lions Den). Some of the top Paralympic athletes who will take part include Carter Mabote, Katlego Matutu and Edwin Masuge.
The athletes will compete in 60m women, 60m men, high jump men, 600m men, 600m women, long jump men, 3000m men, 300m women, long jump women, 1000m men, 1000m women, 150m women, 150m men, short put women. Relays will conclude the programme. Meanwhile, Ntshwarang said Letsile Tebogo has not started his season yet, which is reason why he is not on the line-up.