Africa Senior Championships postponed
Local athletes have been dealt a heavy blow after the Africa Senior Championships which were scheduled for Oran, Algeria from the 1st- 5th of June were postponed until further notice.
The championship provided an opportunity for local athletes to once again try their luck in qualifying for the Olympics which are slated for Tokyo, Japan from July until August.
With competitions very scarce, it has made it
very difficult for local athletes to find competitions in their endeavour to secure tickets to Tokyo. They have resorted to locally organized events which are also occasional due to Covid- 19. However, the postponement of the Africa Championships have put local athletes between a rock and a hard surface since many athletes were targeting the event as one last option to qualify as well as to gauge their strength and competition readiness ahead of the Olympics for those who have already booked places in Tokyo. With qualification for Olympics set to elapse in June 29th, local athletes are running against time to secure last minute qualification in the next remaining days. “The championships were honestly a target for most athletes who have already qualified, considering the level of competition and now the postponement came with great disappointment. There is more pressure now than before and frankly, some athletes are even considering going off season. No one knows when the next competition will be, so we are stuck between whether or not to let athletes go off- the- season. Motivation is no longer there and it’s a pity because the gap between the elite and development athletes is growing every day,” lamented one athlete who preferred to be anonymous. As it stands, Botswana Athletics Association ( BAA) only have five athletes who have secured their spots in Tokyo being; Amantle Montsho, Christine Botlogetswe, Galefele Moroko, Nijel Amos, Isaac Makwala and the 4x400m men’s relay team. Considering the number of Botswana athletes who have qualified for the continental championships. There was hope that Botswana was going to notch at least a few last minute qualifications in Algeria. However, it seems like all is lost since it is not known when the championships will be held. As much as BAA tries to host track and field events to give local athletes a chance to qualify, it has been very hard for athletes to qualify on home soil.
“We are obviously disappointed, we were all looking forward to Africa Champs because its competitive nature will have allowed us to get the best out of us and getting best times. We were also looking forward to having our relay team improving our seasonal best in order to improve our ranking which might also qualify us for Tokyo. Now we will be under pressure because we don’t know how many competitions we will have before the deadline,” said 100m runner, Thuto Masasa in an interview.
Also the postponement is likely to derail Botswana National Olympic Committee’s dream of seeing close to 15 athletes qualifying for the Olympics. As much as judo and swimming are still in contention for a places in Tokyo, their chances are slim and hope is on athletics who boast massive opportunities. In addition to the scarcity of relay events in the continent, the Africa Championships were going to provide a perfect chance for the ladies 4x400m relay team to improve their times, rankings and hopefully get closer to the top 16 since they are yet to qualify for Olympics. In an interview with BG Sport, national team coach Justice Dipeba said the postponement has obviously affected their plans.
“It has derailed our plans but nevertheless we will come up with plan B. The good thing with athletics is that it’s about time not the type of competition you take part in. So our athletes can take part in other events we can cross the border or even go to Europe before qualification closes where athletes can get a chance to run qualifying times. But we anticipate things like this considering the current era so we will continue our preparations and finding competitions for our athletes, “said Dipeba. For his part, BAA spokesperson, Oabona Theetso said as much as the postponement affected their plans, they intend to secure events for the team. “Plans are there to find other alternative events for the team but the problem is that most of the European countries are under lockdowns. However, between now and June 29th, we intend to host at least two track and field events,” he said.