Scarce camping opportunities for Team Botswana
As athletes lack practice events ahead of Tokyo2021 Olympics
Ahead of the Olympics which are slated for the 23rd of July until the 8th of August in Tokyo, Japan, Team Botswana are yet to undergo preparations in a foreign soil. As per the norm, for games of this magnitude, Team Botswana sets up training camps abroad, including closer in South Africa to benefit from high performance centres, which are unavailable locally?
With local athletes having spent much time on the sidelines due to lack or unavailability of competitions, such intensive training camp could be found vital. However, BNOC Acting Chief Executive Officer, Wedu Motswetla has since explained the processes. “The responsibility to identify competitions and qualifying events for any major games, be it Commonwealth or Olympic games lies with the technical teams of various national federations in that particular games preparation programme. For us, it is to approve and support with resources,” she said in a brief interview with BG Sport. As it stands, the athletics team has only managed to frequent South Africa for invitational meets while the boxing team once went to Serbia for a week- long training camp and tournament.
In the past, international training camps have always come in handy for Botswana as evidenced by the boxing performance at the 2019 Africa games. Following rigorous training camps and competitions in Thailand and France, the boxing team went on to win three medals being two gold and silver in Morocco. Even currently, the boxing team has invited the Zambia Boxing Team for a training camp in Gaborone. Weightlifting, which has qualified Magdeline Moyengwa to the Olympics, has already expressed interest to train in the United States of America or South Africa ahead of the games.
“We will check the international space if there are some camps and tournaments. Olympics are in July, we may try to go and acclimatize in Asia but so far we have nothing concrete. Commonwealth games are coming next year too, so we have to prepare,” said Botswana Boxing Association ( BOBA) public relations officer, Taolo Tlouetsile.
For his part, Botswana Athletics Association ( BAA) Vice President – Administration, Oabona Theetso said: “The team is on camp and we will make sure that they are safe. That however is not the responsibility of national associations but of BNOC. We have proposed team’s relocation to Europe for training and acclimatization; we have written to different embassies so we are awaiting their responses,” he said. Team Botswana currently comprises of, Nijel Amos, Isaac Makwala, Christine Botlogetswe, Galefele Moroko, Amantle Montsho and men’s 4x400m relay team, Mohammed Otukile, Keamogetse Kenosi and Moyengwa.