World champion Collen Kebinatshipi emerged as the biggest winner at the 45th Botswana Sport Awards held at the Gaborone International Convention Centre over the weekend, scooping three of the night’s biggest honours.
The 400m sensation walked away with the Sportsman of the Year award, Sports Person of the Year award and the President’s Award following a historic season that saw him win gold in the 400m and another gold with Botswana’s 4x400m relay team at the World Championships in Tokyo last September.
His victories also came with cash prizes of P75,000 for Sportsman of the Year and P100,000 for Sports Person of the Year, cementing him as the standout performer of the evening.
Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe, speaking on behalf of President Duma Boko, presented the President’s Award and praised Botswana athletes for turning the country into a rising force in world athletics.
Gaolathe said Botswana was no longer simply participating on the global stage but competing “with intent,” adding that the country’s recent relay success showed the growing strength of local athletics.
Despite his dominance on the track, Kebinatshipi admitted that self-doubt nearly stood in the way of his success.
“I used to look down on myself and fear the big guys. Even after all the preparations with coach, when competition time came I would do the opposite of what we planned,” he said.
The athlete revealed that his actions once frustrated his coach, Chilume Ntshwarang, during the World Championships in Tokyo, leading to the two going a full day without speaking.
“That day I had to train and prepare alone. It triggered something in me,” said Kebinatshipi.
He then produced a sub-43 second run for the first time in the semi-finals, a performance that shocked both him and his coach.
“Even coach was scared maybe I had exhausted my tank in the semis and would not do it again in the final,” he said.
However, Kebinatshipi stunned the world once more by producing another sensational performance in the final to secure the 400m world title and cement his place among Botswana’s athletics greats.
