Athletics: Botswana Golden Grand Prix |03 May 2023
Local sprinters exit at first hurdle
The much-awaited first Olympic medal for Seychelles will have to wait for a while ifwe expect it to come from track and field athletics as our sprinters still have a lot of catching up to do to match fellow athletes from the African continent, with the recently-held Botswana Golden Grand Prix bearing testimony of the existing gap in performance, along with ranking.
Seychelles was being represented at the continental event held at the National Stadium in Gaborone on April 29, by Leeroy Henriette, Sharry Dodin and Janosh Moncherry who were being accompanied by coach Giovanni Fanny. All three sprinters were eliminated in their respective heats.
In heat one of the 100m, Henriette clocked 10.85 seconds to finish sixth, failing to qualify for the final.
The heat was won by Tumo Van Wyt of the host country in 10.44 seconds and he did not even make it to the final.
It was Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala who won the final in 9.78 seconds.
In the 200m, Dodin, who competed in heat number one, could only manage a fourth-place finish in 21.48 seconds, with Hatago Simusi Muere of Namibia winning the race in 20.94 seconds.
In heat number two, Moncherry finished the 200m race eighth in 22.21 seconds, with South African Benjamin Richardson emerging as winner in 20.40 seconds.
It was Letsile Tegobo of the host country who won the final in 19.87 seconds.
The Botswana Golden Grand Prix is one of the only two World Athletics sanctioned gold continental tours in Africa, the other being the Kip Keino Classic in Kenya.
The international track and field competition which is hosted on an annual basis by Sports View Runners Club was formerly known as the Gaborone International Meet, before being elevated from a bronze to a golden event by World Athletics.
The purpose of this event is to provide a platform for both upcoming and elite athletes to showcase their talent as well as prepare and in some cases qualify for international competitions.
It is open to international athletes across the world and, in the past, it has attracted international athletes from Central and Southern Africa.
It has qualified athletes for regional, continental and international championships, such as World Championships, Olympics Games, Commonwealth Games, and All-Africa Games since its inception.
Roland Duval