Time running out for relay teams
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday July 14, 2023 12:58
The mixed relay team was in the qualifying bracket after clocking the fastest time of 3:15.29 during the Lefika Relays in June. However, the team has now dropped to position 20.
The women’s 4x400m relay team is in position 16 after recording 3:28.79 during the Kenya National Championships last month. The team is on the verge of being removed from the qualification bracket by the Nigerian team that will be in action today (Friday).
Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) president, Moses Bantsi told Mmegi Sport that they do not have money to take the two to competitions. “In June, we sent two relay teams for competition in Kenya with the help of the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC). Athletics Kenya was catering for accommodation and meals while we paid for flights. The two teams posted good times.
Last week, our request for funding was rejected when we were to send the team for the Kenya trials,” he said. Bantsi said the two relay teams have young talent, which should be supported. He said in the absence of seasoned Galefele Moroko and Christine Botlogetswe, the young athletes should be given a chance to step up. Bantsi said their budget submitted to the BNSC for team preparation was P3 million and already they have a deficit of P1 million. “Our relay teams stand a chance of reaching the finals at the World Championships, which means they would have qualified for Paris 2024 Olympics. Age is still on their side, with the youngest in the team being 19-years-old,” he said.
Bantsi said they have submitted requests for funding in different organisations and they remain hopeful that someone will come onboard. Meanwhile, the BAA is awaiting a verdict after appearing before the sport disciplinary committee. The association is accused of engaging a British massage and injury expert, Simon O'Brien instead of a local during Oregon '22.
The association is also in hot soup over the composition of the mixed relay team that travelled to Nairobi. Bantsi said they were expected to send three men and three women but instead, BAA sent more women than men. “The BNSC cannot dictate to us how we do things. BAA is the one that knows what should be done to prepare a team, where and how. They should only focus on funding not the composition of the team. We knew what we wanted to achieve in Nairobi, hence that arrangement,” he said. Regarding the engagement of O'Brien, Bantsi said there is nobody with such expertise in Botswana. “He is a specialist and even our locals learnt from him. We wanted him to make sure that our athletes were ready for competition. Even our elite athletes told the disciplinary committee about the impact that O'Brien had on them. There is no competition without sport science,” Bantsi said.