Just like what happened during the CAA African Senior Championships held in Asaba, Nigeria in 2018 where the results were scrapped by the World Athletics, the same fate is likely to befall Botswana’s 4x100m relay team results for the Douala, Cameroon edition.
The quartet of Thapelo Monaiwa, Mothusi Boitshwarelo, Tumo van Wyk and Letsile Tebogo recorded a new national record of 38.19s.
The performance saw the team kick out the Netherlands from position 16 in the rankings. However, there are some performances from the competition that may end up not being recognised by the World Athletics.
By Tuesday, the entire competition was listed as ‘Uncertified’ (or ‘UNC’) on the World Athletics results page. On Wednesday, ‘UNC’ had been removed from other events but two, being the Botswana men’s 4x100m heat and the women’s 100m hurdles heats and final were still under the ‘ban’.
In the 100m women’s hurdles, Liberia’s Ebony Morrison had achieved the Olympic standard and Madagascar’s Sibone Fiadanstoa scored precious points for her world ranking.
The races were started with a starting gun with a faulty starting flap. If the events remain as ‘UNC’, the performances would not be valid for Olympic qualification.
When asked about the situation, the Botswana team manager, Kenneth Kikwe, said he has no idea what was happening.
Meanwhile, the men’s 4x400m relay team continued their dominance scooping a gold medal with a time of 3:02.23. The running order had Collen Kebinatshipi (first leg), Leungo Scotch (second leg), Lee Eppie (third leg) and Bayapo Ndori (anchor).
Coach, Justice Dipeba told MmegiSport that the team did well and he is happy with the performance.
“The organising of the championships was not up to scratch. It was not something we were expecting at this level. We were able to put ourselves together to do what we could with what was available. We won medals in men’s 400m hurdles, we won gold and silver medals through Victor Ntweng and Kemorena Tisang,” he said.
Dipeba said they were hoping to win a medal in the women’s 800m through Oratile Nowe but due to other factors, she did not manage, finishing in position four.
Kethobogile Hanguira got a silver medal in the men’s 800m while Eppie also brought home another silver in the men’s 400m.
The 4x400m mixed relay team won a bronze medal and Dipeba said it was one event they went into expecting to do well, but due to factors beyond their control in terms of schedule, the team did not run the expected time.
“We were not able to win a medal in the men’s 4x100m relay due to the few changes in the relay.
Tebogo was out and replaced by Steven Abosi. Sometimes such changes affect the dynamics of the relay, the exchange has to be precise, especially in the final where the pressure is high.
There was a bit of miscommunication between the third and anchor leg and they were not able to complete the exchange. Everything was messed up,” he said.
Dipeba explained that the reason for the changes in the 4x100m relay was due to the absence of Tebogo hence he was forced to add a new runner. He said they did not have enough time to prepare for the competition, especially the 4x100m team, which is a tactical event and needs practice.
He said the team did not have a training camp as it only met two days before the competition. Dipeba said for the team to do better in future it needs a camp and to practice baton exchange. The team finished in position eight with one gold, three silver and one bronze medal.
