At the turn of the millennium, it was only a dream to see Botswana’s flag flying side-by-side with that of global super power, the United States of America at a sport event. But that has become a refreshing regularity as the Botswana conveyor belt continues to churn talent from the top drawer. Amantle Montsho was a world champion in 2011, Nijel Amos followed it up with the country’s first ever Olympic medal a year later. Isaac Makwala became a Commonwealth Games champion as the floodgates of success swung wide open. The nation is now guaranteed moments of pleasure each time athletes fly out for an international assignment. Now reaching the final alone is regarded as a below par performance, representing the high bar that has been set. It is no longer business as usual as Botswana’s athletes take their place at the top table.
Despite a small population, the country is now regarded among leading athletics nations on the continent, alongside the likes of Kenya and Ethiopia. In the sprints, it will not be far-fetched to say Botswana is the country of the moment. The arrival of Letsile Tebogo on the scene has been a game changer. It’s an entry that has had a positive disruptive effect, as he has gate crushed a party that has traditionally been dominated by athletes from the Caribbean and North America. Tebogo, a boy from Kanye, now unapologetically and deservedly sits at the top in the company of some fine athletics talent. Tebogo and other pathfinders’ impressive showing should nudge the authorities to treat athletics better. The sport has emerged as the country’s goose that lays the golden egg. But it appears it’s still laisser-faire attitude from the authorities.
Athletics’ budget has on average, been around P1 million for the longest time, yet it is at the top tier of the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) funding rating. This means the code is among the highest earners, which is performance related. The sports minister, Tumiso Rakgare indicated in his post, that had it been the Olympics, Tebogo would now be two houses richer. This is a clear indication of the discordant approach. The incentive policy is now firmly out of touch with the changing landscape and needs to be re-visited once again. What the government needs to do is to send an emphatic message that the girl or boy-child, who wants to choose sport as a career, will be handsomely rewarded. Athletics deserve more and robust development programmes should sprout throughout the country. This will align with the now established normal that Botswana is an athletics country.
