Tough start for Botswana at Olympics
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday July 30, 2024 10:44
The swimmer was ranked number 27 after all the bits and such could not proceed to the next round. Robinson clocked 1:02.79 during heat two and finished in position three after Mexico swimmer, De Lera Ojeda Ma was disqualified. The swimmer booked himself a slot at the Olympics after receiving a wild card. Robinson however said he was happy with the experience gained from the competition. 'The competition went well. It was an experience I can’t even put into words. I was slightly off my best time, but that is the nature of sports—you can't always get what you expect. However, I walked away knowing I did my best,' he said. Robinon also said he kept an open mind about his chances of making it to the next stage and knew it would be extremely tough.
'I didn’t try to predict the future. If it happened, it happened. I'm not disappointed about not advancing; instead, I’m more motivated to train harder and achieve this feat, if not more, one day.Next, I’m going to take a small holiday to recharge. After that, I'll return to Budapest to continue my training and begin the next cycle of Olympic preparation. I'm planning to compete at the Short Course World Championships in December,' he said.
Another swimmer, Maxine Egner will be in action tomorrow (Tuesday) in the women’s 100m freestyle heat with the semi-finals following on the same day if she is to proceed to the second round of the competition. The finals for the women’s 100m freestyle are set for Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Botswana Swimming Sport Association (BSSA) has received P3 million sponsorship from the Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB). Over the next three years, DTCB will sponsor the BSSA’s Long-Term Development programme with P1 million annually. The BSSA president, Kgaotsang Matthews, said the partnership between her association and DTCB started last year when the company sponsored the junior swimming team for P100, 000 to compete at the Junior World Aquatic Championships in Netanya, Israel. “Following the success of the team, we were tempted to approach them again and they made it clear that their interest is the swimmer, and whatever we submit should be geared towards the swimmer.
This was exactly what we were looking for, a sponsor who knows what they are looking for. A sponsor who knows what sports is and what to look out for. This fell directly in line with our strategic objective of improving athletics’ performances,” she said. Matthews explained that the sponsorship from DTCB is going to support two groups of swimmers, 20 athletes in the development squad (juniors aged 12 -15), and the senior squad which has 10 swimmers. She said the support will assist in getting swimmers to the high performance camps at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Pretoria, provisions of strength and conditioning support, sport psychologist and physiotherapy support.
She said the key component for them as the BSSA, is the coaches and the programme can never be a success if they do not consider that at the centre of athletes' success is the coach behind the swimmer. Matthews said there is no point building all the support around the swimmer, when they are not working with the coach. 'The coach is pivotal to the programme, as the implementer. We as the BSSA have therefore had a fruitful workshop at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Pretoria with our coaches where they discussed all the technical components that need to be in place for this programme to work. When our swimmers go to the HPC, they will be accompanied by a coach from their club, so that whatever they learn at the HPC is continued when the swimmer returns home,' she said.
The DTCB managing director, Sedireng Serumola, said the collaboration with the BSSA embodies the commitment to nurturing the next generation of swimmers in Botswana. He said their support will not only enhance the performance of our athletes but also prepare them for the 2028 Olympics.