BNOC Leaves BAA on The Dark Regarding Paris Olympics Preps

Less than a year remains until the eagerly awaited Paris 2024 Olympics. However, the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) veil of secrecy surrounding its preparations for this forthcoming global sporting spectacle has raised concerns, according to revelations made to The Business Weekly Sports. Currently, the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) stands as the sole sporting code with qualified athletes for the forthcoming Olympics. So far, the BAA has successfully secured qualifications for five athletes: Bayapo Ndori (400m), Letsile Tebogo (100m and 200m), Leungo Scotch (400m), Tshepiso Maselela (800m), and [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="1,2,3,4" ihc_mb_template="3" ] Collen Kebinatshipi (400m). Nevertheless, despite this noteworthy achievement, the BAA still faces challenges in ensuring the athletes' optimal preparation for the grand event. “Full preparations have not started and we are not aware of what is happening,” said BAA Vice President of Administration Oabona Theetso in a telephone interview. “All they (BNOC) did last time was that they told us to appoint a team manager for the Olympics and send our preparations plan, we did that, and since then we have not heard from them. We only communicate through emails and we have not met physically to plan for the Olympics.” Theetso emphasizes that Olympic preparations cannot be rushed and must be thorough, requiring more time. He pointed out that the Ministry responsible for Sports has acknowledged that they will provide a monthly allowance of P8,300 to all athletes who have qualified for the Olympics but has omitted the coaches from this support. “Why did they leave out the coaches as they are those who aid athletes to qualify?” he questioned. Undeterred by the BNOC's silence, Theetso affirmed the BAA's commitment to forging ahead with its own preparations. "We will not wait for anyone," he asserted. "We want to send athletes to various competitions when the season commences next year, including the World Relays. Our aim is to prepare for the Olympics and strive for more athletes to qualify." Efforts to get a comment from BNOC emerged futile as they did not respond to a questionnaire sent by this publication at the time of going to print. Meanwhile, Botswana has so far won only two Olympic medals. On a fine day in 2012, a fresh-faced teenager from Botswana left the world awestruck when he won silver in the 800m race at the London Olympics, the country’s first-ever podium finish at the biggest global sporting showpiece. The country would go on to claim its second medal, a bronze, through the 4x400m relay team during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (which took place in 2021). The relay team was made up of Isaac Makwala, Baboloki Thebe, Bayapo Ndori, Zibani Ngozi and Anthony Pesela as a reserve. The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Paris 2024, is a forthcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with Paris as the main host city and 16 other cities spread across metropolitan France, plus one subsite in Tahiti—an island within the French overseas country and overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. Paris was awarded the Games at the 131st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Lima, Peru, on 13 September 2017. After multiple withdrawals that left only Paris and Los Angeles in contention, the IOC approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two cities. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris will become the second city (after London) to host the Summer Olympics three times. Marking the centenary of Paris 1924, these Olympic Games will be the sixth hosted by France (three in summer and three in winter), and the first French Olympics since the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. Following Paris 2024, the Summer Games will return to the traditional four-year Olympiad cycle, as the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [/ihc-hide-content]

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BNOC Leaves BAA on The Dark Regarding Paris Olympics Preps

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