The palpable excitement hit the nation on a wintry evening in July 2012 when Amos participated in the fastest 800m final, on his way to earning the country’s first Olympic medal.
Then an unheralded 18-year-old Amos had made history, finishing behind the big-striding, recording-breaking Kenyan, David Rudisha.
Amos was immediately installed as the new darling of athletics, almost replacing the iconic, Amantle Montsho, who had, a year earlier, become the first Motswana to be crowned a world champion.
Amos did not only win the country’s first Olympic Games medal, he effectively saved a stuttering campaign after the Botswana team flew to London amid burgeoning expectations. But Montsho (now Victor-Nkape) failed to replicate the form that had earned her cult status in Daegu, South Korea, when she raced to victory in the 400m. Amos won the Olympic medal as a teenager and despite successive high-profile competitions like the World Championships and the Olympics, his 2012 achievement remains the most significant.
He had been tipped to be the heir to Rudisha’s throne, but that was never to be as the men’s 800m race is still searching for its new poster boy after the exit of the Kenyan. Amos’ career threatened to hit an early cul-de-sac when he was almost sucked into the glitzy world of entertainment, going by the moniker, DJ Zoro. However, the talented athlete quickly put his life back on track and was always a favourite going into international races. He succeeded in the Diamond League, but significant success in the renowned races, the World Championships and the Olympics proved elusive. What was supposed to be a celebratory occasion marking a decade since Amos’ success in London, turned out to be a moment of despair as the athlete was provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance.
It was last year July, on the eve of the World Championships which were held in Oregon, the United States of America. Amos was forced to withdraw from the race as he waited to hear his fate from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). While the nation reacted with disappointment to Amos’ doping news, there was consolation in that Botswana was witnessing the rise of a new star, Letsile Tebogo, who has taken over from the old guard as the headline act.
After an agonising eight-month wait on the sidelines, the AIU delivered a crushing blow last week when it emerged Amos had been banned for three years. The only cushion was that it was effective from the day of suspension last July and will end in 2025.
Amos will be 31 then and has hinted he has no plans to retire when his suspension ends.
In a statement released this week, Amos said he will bounce back stronger from the ordeal.
“I can inform the nation that I have no plans to retire in the next three years. I am still in good shape and I am hopeful that I will rise again in the World Championships in 2025, God willing,” Amos said. However, the ban has had financial implications and the athlete has been left counting his losses. “I would admit it has been a financially draining process, and it is extremely difficult to survive as an athlete in Botswana where we are not given pension or any lump sum insurance payouts. At this time, my only investment or pension is the famous 2012 Olympic silver medal. I am in touch with different stakeholders including financial advisors on how that can sustain me and my family,” he said in the statement. The athlete indicated he had lost close to P900,000 during the case which was used on legal fees and travelling to the Court of Sport Arbitration (CAS) in Zurich, Switzerland.
Amos is now considering selling his 2012 Olympic medal to sustain his livelihood, as a career which started promisingly, threatens to peter out.
