AND THE AWARD GOES TO....?
Uncertainty surrounds Botswana Sports Awards
This year’s Botswana Sports Awards are in doubt following 365 largely frustrating days of inactivity on the sporting field.
Covid-19 restrictions brought local sport to a virtual standstill last April. 17 months later and, as the pandemic rages on, the majority of codes are yet to return to action.
On a local level, most sports remain suspended while international competitions have been few and far between.
Because of this, Botswana National Sports Commission CEO, Tuelo Serufho, admitted they were yet to make a firm decision on whether or not the 41st edition of the awards ceremony will go ahead.
“We are still going to make a decision regarding the awards ceremony. Chances are that we might host them but they will be different this time around due to the fact that there were limited events to gauge our athletes with,” explained Serufho.
“They will be modified awards because at this particular juncture having gatherings is prohibited due to Covid-19 protocols. But as soon as we have reached a decision, we will announce the way forward,” continued the CEO.
Run by the BNSC, the Botswana Sports Awards have been a mainstay of the sporting calendar since 1980 and are traditionally held in April, although last year’s installment took place in November.
The initiative is designed to reward athletes who excelled in local, zonal, continental and global competitions in a yearly calendar.
Should organisers decide it’s not worth having the event this year, Athletics would undoubtedly be the biggest loser.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Athletics World Relays and World Athletics Junior Championships all included various highs from a local perspective.
35-year-old Isaac Makwala in particular enjoyed a successful
Olympics.
As well as qualifying for the 400m final, where he finished seventh, the Tutume titan handed the 4x400m relay team a crucial lead on their way to a historic Bronze medal finish.
Indeed ‘Team of the Year’ is likely to be a hot contest, with the junior lads going two better than their seniors, winning Gold at last month’s U/20 World Champs.
In total, Team BW came away from Kenya with three Golds and a Silver. The stars of the show were 18-year-old Letsile Tebogo, who won the 100m and came second when the distance was doubled, while Anthony Pesela, 19, bagged two Golds, in the 400m and 4x400m relay. Their heroics make the ‘Young Male Sports Person’ category a nightmare to call!
In other sports, 20-year-old weightlifter, Magdeline Moyengwa, was one of the standout women of the year, lifting her way to Bronze at the African Senior Weightlifting Championships back in May. Moyengwa’s Kenyan heroics were enough to land her a place at the Tokyo Olympics, where alongside boxer, Keamogetse Kenosi, 24, boundaries were broken.