The conveyor belt churning the 400m talent is not about to stop with a new kid emerging on the block.
Collen Kebinatshipi is the latest 400m runner ready to rock the athletics world and is already ranked number three in the world Under-20 with a Personal Best (PB) of 45:40.
Initially, the sprinter was a 110m hurdler and he made it to the COSSASA Games national team in 2019. Kebinatshipi, born 18 years ago in Hukuntsi, said his interest in athletics started at an early age but he never thought it would take him this far. “I started having interest in athletics when I was a Standard 7 pupil at Phutisutlha Primary School in Lotlhakane East.
Just like anyboy in school, running was something that we did all the time. I did not take it seriously or even consider athletics as something that I can do at a professional level,” he said. As time went on, the young Kebinatshipi’s talent was noticed by his teachers, which is why he made the cut for the COSSASA squad that travelled to Eswatini.
During the national team camp, while preparing for the games, he met up with coach Chilume Ntshwarang, which marked the beginning of a long journey in athletics and his life changed forever. “It was easy to convince my parents to allow me to follow this new path I had discovered and they started to support me. I specialise in 400m.
Ntshwarang advised me that I can do better on the one lap so I tried and all went well,” he said. Kebinatshipi said working with Ntshwarang is the best thing to have ever happened to him because he is more of a parent. Kebinatshipi's chosen career has started to pay dividends and he has started collecting medals. During the 2019 COSSASA Games, he won a bronze medal in 110mH.
The following year he was part of the 4x400m quartet that won a gold medal at the World Under-20 Championships held in Nairobi, Kenya. He won gold in the boys 400m during the 2021 Region 5 Games in Maseru, Lesotho, gold in the medley relay at the same competition, and another gold medal in the 4x100m relay.
This year, Kebinatshipi scooped a gold medal in the mixed relay at the Africa Senior Championships. He also brought another medal in the men’s 4x400m relay team at the same competition. He has qualified for the World Youth Championships scheduled for Cali, Colombia in August. “The stage is always the same. The most important thing is to focus on the bigger goal at hand, which is to be successful. Competing is not all about medals and the fame that comes along with it. It is about showing up and giving your best.
Those are my principles and I stick to them all the time. I try by all means to avoid pressure,” he said. Kebinatshipi will be running his favourite one lap in Cali. He said the intention is to approach the games with the experience he has picked from the Africa Senior Championships and the World Under-20. “Just like any other athlete, I struggle with injuries but I try to give them time to heal.
I have started my preparations for the Youth Championships with my coach. I want to go out there and give my best. I want to be the pride of this country and my family,” he said. Kebinatshipi looks up to Isaac Makwala for inspiration.
He explained that ‘Badman’ always goes for anything that he believes in and he is a hard worker. He added that Makwala has been through a lot in his career but he always puts his best foot forward when he wears his spikes on the track.
Kebinatshipi is a Form 5 student at Seepapitso Senior Secondary School in Kanye. He is a member of the Jwaneng Athletics Club. For his part, Ntshwarang said he started working with Kebinatshipi when he was doing Form 2. “He was part of the COSSASA team. When I started working with him, he was running 110mH but I felt that he was 400m material.
I converted him and it went according to plan. He even made it into the World Under-20 team,” he said. Ntshwarang described Kebinatshipi as a humble person with the right attitude and discipline and it looks like he knows what he wants to achieve in athletics. He said the athlete is ready to compete in Cali and the outcome will be decided when the games start.
He said preparations are also going well.
FACT FILE Full names: Collen Kebinatshipi Sport: Athletics: 400m Date of birth: February 13, 2004 Place of birth: Hukuntsi Fastest times: 100m (10:62), 200m: (20:84) and 400m (45:40) Hobbies: Farming Club: Jwaneng Athletics Club
