Mabote seeks answers after squad omission
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday April 27, 2024 06:00
According to the Paralympics Association of Botswana (PASSOBO), Mabote did not meet the qualifying standard.
However, according to the official World Para Athletics rankings 2024, Mabote has qualified and he is ranked number eight with a time of 52.31s. Speaking to MmegiSport, Mabote said he was shocked when he was excluded when the team was called for camp. He said the process that was followed when selecting the team was flawed.
Other athletes who have been omitted are Lame Monamati (T12), Katlego Matutu (T12), and Tumo Masejane (T13).
“When I met with the coach, Nason ‘Hadji’ Maotwe in January, he informed me that if I want to qualify for the World Para Athletics Championships, I should run a time that is closer to the Paralympics qualifying standard which is 51:03s. He advised me that if I can clock 52.50s, I will be close.
When I competed in Bloemfontein, South Africa I posted 52.33s, which is an improvement from the 52.34s which I registered last year.
This whole thing is a mess because athletes were called to camp in secret and all T12 400m runners are not in camp,” he said. Mabote said they took the matter up with the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), which in turn advised the athletes to go back to the Paralympics Association of Botswana (PASSOBO).
He said his main concern was why T12 400M was not included in the events when it had a good time. He said things changed when the team was in camp, which included one of the T11 400m athletes who is far from a qualifying time of 53.00s but has been included in the camp.
Mabote said when the PASSOBO technical team realised that he had a point, they turned around to say the qualifying time was 52.03s, which is something that was never communicated. “I feel this is just a plan to frustrate us. After I enquired about the exclusion of T12, they claimed that they had set a qualifying standard of 51.03 and it was reduced to 52.03. The information came through only after I pushed them. I wonder why they are fighting us. Our management is just there to push their own agenda. There is no transparency in the association. We ask questions, they take offence,” he said.
Mabote stated that the decision means it is the end of the road for his Paris 2024 Paralympics Games dream, which he has been working hard to achieve since 2006.
“It was tough for me, I even introduced Edwin Masuge and Bose Mokgwathi to athletics. I even took a break in 2018 from competing to coach those athletes and the team brought a gold medal from the Region V Games. But now I am seen as a bad person. I have now decided to quit.
All we want is assistance. Maybe we are getting this bad treatment because we are disabled,” said the disappointed Mabote.
The team manager, Monty Ratlou, said Mabote did not meet the cut because the set qualifying standard is 52.03s, which he failed to meet. He said preparations for the World Para Athletics Championships are going well and the team is jetting off on May 11.
The team T13 400m: Bose Mokgwathi and Edwin Masuge. Woman: Gloria Majaga T37 200m and 400m: Ronald Rich T11 400m: Bonkamile Bankaetse