Adios 2024, the wine indeed tasted better!

Mqondisi Dube | Friday December 20, 2024 10:40

The year 2024 has been a gracious guest; the best of the lot since Botswana was given the freeway to self-rule way back in 1966. This year tasted the sweetest in terms of sporting achievements. No other can surpass the last 12 months as Botswana claimed its rightful place among the world’s leading athletics nations. The wine of success in 2024 tasted so good and the hope is that more glasses will be raised to toast further success in 2025. The feel good factor has been restored, thanks largely to the exploits of the prodigious talents of one Kanye lad, Letsile Tebogo.

His 200m triumph at the Paris Olympics in August was the story of the year, not only within the confines of Botswana but his success reverberated across the globe. It is a story that will be told for generations to come. It culminated in Tebogo being voted the world’s best male athlete, a feat that no other local sportsperson has achieved, and will be difficult to replicate. In 2025, all the scrutiny will definitely be on Tebogo, the conqueror of one Noah Lyles and a host other American greats. The next 12 months will be crucial as Tebogo chases his first ever world championship title. He has shed the dark horse tag and would go into 2025 as the world’s most feared 200m athlete and Botswana can stand proud. The last time there was such a feeling was when Amantle Montsho became world champion in 2011. Nijel Amos arrived on the big scene with all the promise of conquering the world, but he flattered to deceive. He returns to the track next year after serving a ban for doping.

The hope is that he rediscovers his mojo. Away from athletics, the Zebras finally woke up from a more than decade long slumber. The Zebras are now on their way to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations finals, only the second time in their history after they performed a late Houdini Act in the qualifiers. The Mares will also be in Morocco, while Ross Branch won a world title in motorsport. He was recently voted the ‘Hero’ of the Year at a function hosted by the Federation International of Motorsport. Branch is expected to maintain the foot on the accelerator as he prepares for the gruelling 2025 Dakar Rally, which starts in a few days. In the corridors of power, there was a change of guard at Lekidi Football Centre, where Maclean Letshwiti’s eight-year grip on power was ended by Tariq Babitseng. While sport enjoyed some sunshine moments, regular irritants remain particularly in the boardrooms. Karate led the way with unending conflictsm which mirror the state of most codes. Even athletics, which has been the country’s flagship code, has somehow conspired to ensure that it is not left out of the chaos, something that should concern the authorities.