How BAA produced winners

In the 400m, Anthony Pesela showed his power on the final stretch as he came from fourth to clinch gold, adding to Botswana’s gold medal count. Champions are not made overnight, it takes years of training to achieve excellence. While the perseverance and perspiration of an athlete are the ultimate determining factors, the role of a coach in shaping their path to success cannot be underestimated. After enduring a tough preparation period in the midst of lockdowns and relentless pandemic, athletics coaches across the country have been hailed for a splendid job they have done to ready the athletes for success.

The team reportedly requested a month-long camp but due to unavailability of funds at Botswana Athletics Association (BAA), that was not possible, in fact, the team only managed eight (8) days in camp ahead of the competition. “Our athletes have personal coaches, I lead the national team, but credit must go to all coaches across the country who worked tirelessly to prepare the athletes. Clubs and coaches cooperation made it easier for us to have a competitive team,” national team coach Chilume Ntshwarang shared.

Meleko Ndolo, the national team assistant coach said building world champions must be treated as a project, making reference to Pesela, whom he says their relationship dates back to 2015. With the aid of school sports, Pesela did his Form 4 and 5 in Maun, and upon completion of his studies; joined BDF Athletics club.

“We have these kids now, how about we keep them for World Championships next year and prepare them for Paris 2024. We can assemble a team and build on this team, they need proper training, food, medical attention etc,” Ndolo advised. Being a sports star is the dream of so many young athletes around the world. However, many have fallen by the wayside after failing to deal with fame and being world superstars.

Ntshwarang has implored the public to play a positive role to build the young talents.

“We have to take care of these talents, they have reached international standards, societies and families must play a role to keep these young talents focused and not go astray. We need to help them with lifestyle management, they are now world champions, and we must protect them,” he said.

He added that the group he is leading has ‘amazing talents’ with massive potential. He therefore called on the powers that be to avail a highperformance centre locally to enhance their development.

“We know our true potential, Letsile and Anthony could have easily challenged for medals if we sent them to the Olympics.

We just need proper support and infrastructure, we need a high —performance centre. It is so easy to make a decision to leave sports, but with proper mechanisms in place, we can develop, nurture and keep talents. We treat ourselves as a developing nation, but other countries rate us highly, they respect us, we must be confident and work hard to do more,” Ntshwarang passionately stated in conclusion