Letsile Tebogo lit up the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix with a commanding 200m victory in his home soil at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Gaborone on Saturday 12.
Tebogo cruised to a 20.23s (-1.6m/s) 200m victory in his season debut after running 400m races earlier this year. South Africa’s Luxolo Adams followed in second place, clocking 20.42.
The 200m event featured two heats, with South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile taking top with an impressive 20.01 (-1.8m/s).
The men’s 100m turned out to be a much tighter affair. After earning his first individual global medal, Akani Simbine returned strong, proving he’s still a major sprinting contender globally. The South African crossed the line in 9.90 seconds, into a -1.4m/s headwind, registering the fastest time in the world so far this year. Omanyala finished second in 10.00.
In the women’s 100m, South Africa’s rising star Hanna Hope Vermaak secured the win in 11.44 (-0.2m/s). Runner-up Viwe Jingqi also posted 11.44, marking a promising sign for South Africa’s future sprinting prospects.
Former 400m hurdles world record-holder Dalilah Muhammad clocked 53.81 seconds to comfortably defeat Cassandra Tate, in 55.59. In the men’s equivalent, South Africa’s Njabulo Mbatha prevailed in a tightly contested battle, winning in 49.06.
Botswana’s Bayapo Ndori claimed a well-executed victory in the men’s 400m clocking 44.35 seconds while South Africa’s Zakithi Nene finished second in 44.65.
In women’s 400m Egypt’s Bassant Hemida stopped the clock at 50.77 seconds. South Africa’s Miranda Coetzee took second with a time of 51.10.
In the women’s 800m as Botswana’s Oratile Nowe thrilled the home crowd with a national record-breaking run. The 24-year-old trailed Kenya’s world U20 champion Sarah Moraa at the bell, but surged ahead on the second lap. Nowe powered down the home straight to finish in 1:58.96.
Botswana’s dominance continued in the men’s 800m as Kethobogile Haingura edged out teammate and Olympic finalist Tshepiso Masalela. Just a month after running a personal best of 1:43.88 in Johannesburg, Haingura clocked 1:44.18, narrowly beating Masalela’s 1:44.77 to secure a Botswana 1-2 finish.
In the 3000m steeplechase, Ethiopia’s Hailemariyam Amare began celebrating before the finish, crossing the line in 8:28.00. Fellow Ethiopians Milkesse Fekadu (8:28.67) and Demelash Girma (8:29.67) completed the podium in a clean sweep for the nation.
Italy’s Zane Weir led a one-two finish in the shot put with a best throw of 20.83m, while teammate Leonardo Fabbri threw 20.64m for second place. South Africa’s Olympic silver medallist Jo-Ane van Dyk secured top spot in the women’s javelin with a throw of 61.23m, and American jumper Marquis Dendy claimed victory in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.94m.