‘Badman’ fired up
NOTHING will be able to make up for his world championship disappointment.
Isaac Makwala, though, is out to make a statement on the Gold Coast by winning gold for Botswana on the track in an effort he hopes will lay the foundation for a tilt at an Olympic title.
Makwala, 31, became an unwilling participant in a world championship soap opera in London last year when he was banned from entering the track and pulled from the 400m final after he was declared to have the highly infectious norovirus, a leading cause of gastroenteritis.
One of the favourites for the title and the only man considered able to challenge eventual champion Wayde van Niekerk, Makwala had insisted he was fit enough to race and was left heartbroken by the ruling.
And while he is out to win Commonwealth Games gold, the meet is no London do-over.
“What happened in London, happened in London,” Makwala said.
“And the quality of the races, the world championships and the Commonwealth Games, they are not equal.
“For the Commonwealth Games, we don’t have all the countries.
“I’m not here to prove myself, I’m just here to run my race, to run for the gold medal.”
Makwala did have the chance to run in London.
Eventually granted a reprieve, he ran a solo time-trial on a wet track in the 200m, qualifying for the semi-finals before dropping to the ground and performing push-ups to show he was fit, in a move that has become known as a Makwala Challenge.
It’s a move he expects to break out on the Carrara track after the 400m final when his alter ego, “Badman” Makwala crosses the line.
“I think I’m here to make a statement, I’m here to win a gold medal,” said Makwala, who will face a field without van Niekerk, the South African sidelined by a knee injury.
The swagger comes from “Badman”, Makwala’s ontrack persona. “It’s just a technique to (run fast),” he said.
The Gold Coast, he hopes, will be the first step on the road to Olympic success in Tokyo.
“The big target is Tokyo 2020,” he said.