Another top athlete, retired former world champion, Amantle Montsho was suspended in 2014 for taking a banned violation. Makwala, speaking to Mmegi Sport this week, said it is natural for track stars to be closely monitored by anti-doping officials.
“It is very tough. You might end up doping without even knowing it. As for me, I avoided a lot of things like alcohol or anything sour. Maybe that is how I stayed out of these things,” he said.
Amos indicated he used more than P1 million to fight his doping case, but Makwala argues, the 800m runner was wasting his time. “He used a lot of money; P1 million is a lot of money. To try and fight those people is not easy.
If someone says your blood is positive, sample B is likely to come back positive because it is the same urine. I think he was supposed to take it like Amantle Montsho. Montsho took it and came back stronger,” Makwala said. He said returning to top form after a doping ban is never easy. “It is tough for an athlete to come back from a doping violation. To talk and say you will come back stronger, you can talk, but staying for three years without running is a long time.
It is not easy,” he said. “If I was Nijel since we are already in mid-year, I would rest and come back next year. It is not easy because you are not allowed to use their facilities,” Makwala added.
On the issue of general support for athletes, Makwala said there is no enough support for athletes. “When you have a problem, not the one that Nijel has, let us say it’s an injury, no one will take care of you. Regarding retirement, Makwala said he will evaluate his performance at the end of the season. “I wanted to stop this year, but my coach (Justice Dipeba) told me that, I still see something in you, you can come back and do something. So I wanted to honour my coach. We will see after this season ends.
If we perform well, then we might do the last year (2024),” Makwala said. Makwala is focusing on individual races like the Diamond League and will not be competing in the World Championships, Commonwealth Games or the Olympic Games. He said Botswana needs to pay more attention to athletics which has been bringing results. “Everyone sees that we are good in athletics. Why then can’t we focus on athletics like Ethiopia and Kenya?” He, however, said he is not interested in joining sports administration. “I don’t want to go to the office because there is a lot of politics. I am not a politician. I don’t want to work with ignorant people. I want to work with people who understand sport. If there were people like Glody Dube, then I can work with them. They know what athletes need, not someone who was never an athlete.
That is why our sport is going nowhere. These people just want to go on trips,” Makwala said. He said the issue of volunteering is also affecting sport growth. “These people are not getting paid.
They just come and want to go on trips. If they were paid, everyone was going to push hard,” he noted. Makwala blamed voters for removing people who are useful and replacing them with people who are below par. “Glody Dube was in office and he didn’t manage because people were pulling him down.” Makwala said athletics should be supported from the top, including government for the sport to make strides. “It is the same thing. Even from the ministry, we don’t see enough. Now they want to take a lot of money to bid for the Africa Cup of Nations. It is just politics. It’s about them and not sport,” he argued. He said he has no intention to run for political office. “If I join politics, I will be lowering my dignity. What I want is to go into coaching, but there is no money. I want to go and coach outside where I will be paid.”
