The goose fails to lay the golden egg
Nijel Amos has countless glorious moments, but when it mattered most, the nation’s goose failed to lay the golden egg,
Afew seconds before 2:05pm on a warmer Wednesday afternoon, optimism had reached fever pitch across an expectant nation. Could this be the golden moment? Was it finally time? It was time; was the consensus across the divide.
There could be no other better time, a nation nodded in unison. It was supposed to be time, the time had come, and only Nijel Amos could stop the watch at the finish line, to trigger wild celebrations. After all, even a hard fall in the semi-finals had failed to stop Amos‘ relentless march to the throne. The glittering gold was right in front of a supremely confident athlete and the nation could even touch the moment. The air was dense with expectation as it seemed the glorious moment was written in stars.
But it was not to be. It was a cruel end, so cruel a nation could be heard cursing and cringing. The pain was too much to bear.
Thousands, who had congregated around their television sets soon after lunch, were forced back into default settings exactly, 1:46.41seconds after 2:05pm.
The disappointment was palpable. Some were inconsolable; so much emotion had been invested but no dividend was paid in the end. Ordinarily, 2:05pm is just another time, a few minutes after the lunch break and usually passes by without notice, but on August 4, 2021, the time was supposed to carry significant meaning. A date and time marked ‘Botswana’s golden moment’. But at the end of it all, it felt like a funeral wake, characterised by words of encouragement and consolation.
After the race, Amos took to social media to thank fans who had rallied behind a dream deferred.
He explained, a quad injury had contributed to his poor showing after he almost took the wooden spoon, finishing eighth out of nine athletes.
“Today was a big day for me and a big day for everyone at home. Tonight, I walked out of that stadium proud of how I handled all that was in my control, emotions and anxiety. How I was feeling physically was beyond my control.
I tried to ignore a quad injury as much as I could, but in the end, the pain just became unbearable. I felt all the support and love and saw all the well wishes.
Even though this is not the outcome we would have wanted, I am proud to have experienced it with you all. Tomorrow is another day. Another day for me to be better than I was yesterday. Now it’s time for me to regroup and move forward to the next step. Peace and love to all who supported me,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Expectations of a medal, not just a medal, but a gold medal from Amos were not misplaced. There was a genuine reason why a population of more than two million people expected so much from an athlete whose build-up to Tokyo, had promised so much.
It was his run in Monaco last month that erased any lingering doubt that Amos was more than ready for the big stage.
During a Diamond League race, Amos obliterated his opponents with the year’s fastest 800m run, stopping the clock at 1:41.89.
It was a statement hard to ignore; a statement that thrust a nation into dreamland. While Botswana sent 14 athletes to Tokyo, the largest chunk of attention and expectation was on Amos’ narrow shoulders.
He arrived in Tokyo with the freshest legs, after little competition but intense training in Oregon, the United States. He showed his intent with a comfortable run in the heats, winning with a time of 1:45.05. But there were warning signs from his rivals, as Kenyan Ferguson Rotich clocked 1:43.75 in his heat. The
flashing lights were rightly ignored as fans had undiluted trust in Amos’ own abilities.
Gold medal winner and Rotich’s compatriot, Emmanuel Korir just edged his heat. In the semi-final, Amos looked to accelerate in the final 150 metres but tripped and fell, at a time when he was not in full control of the race. Anything could have happened as almost the entire cluster of runners, including the eventual semi-final winner, Rotich, had started to accelerate.
There was immediate reprieve when despite the fall, Amos was reinstated for Wednesday’s final as the Botswana athlete attempted to halt Kenya’s dominance in the two-lap race.
However, what was supposed to be a historic moment of cheers, turned into a moment of tears, as Amos faded away as his spikes clawed the track towards the finish line.
Kenyans, Korir and Rotich, completed a one-two to continue their country’s dominance of the 800m in the last three Olympics.
Amos still has some good years ahead of him, with his immediate attention turning to next year’s 2022 World Championships to be held in his ‘home base’ Oregon, the United States.
He will only be 28 years next year and 30 when the next Olympics are held in Paris, France, providing fresh hope he could still land gold at the biggest stage.
The Olympics and the World Championships present the most coveted athletics titles, with only Amos and Amantle Victor-Nkape (Montsho) the only two local runners to grab a medal at each event, respectively.