Botswana's 'gold rush' on the track: A nation of 2.5 million rises to the top of men's sprinting

Amid thunderous cheers at the Gaborone stadium, Botswana's men's 4x400m relay team overtook South Africa in the final meters to win the World Athletics Relays.

Letsile Tebogo, 22, the reigning Olympic 200m champion who ran the second leg, said after the race: "This win means a lot to us. Not just for the team... but for the people who always cheered us on TV. Now they have seen firsthand the effort, the pressure, and what we give for them."

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe described the atmosphere: "I rank this among the top three atmospheres I have ever experienced at live athletics events. First was Cathy Freeman winning in Sydney. Second was Mo Farah surging ahead with a lap or more to go in the 10,000m in London, when the noise was like a wall... This comfortably sits in my top three."

Botswana, a country larger than Spain but with only 2.5 million people, has made a rapid rise in men's sprinting. Tebogo's Olympic gold in Paris 2024 was the nation's first gold medal and its fourth overall. The men's 4x400m relay team won silver, improving on bronze from three years earlier. At last year's world championships in Tokyo, Kebinatshipi won gold in the 400m, and the relay team he anchored also took gold.

The athletes are stars in Botswana, their faces appearing on billboards from mobile phone contracts to milk. "My life has changed a lot," said Kebinatshipi, 22, who started running at school, during a pre-relay press conference. He now spends half an hour taking photos with fans every time he goes shopping. "At first I was a little nervous because I wasn't used to it... Now I'm used to it, everything is fine with me."

Sports officials say long-term investment in young athletes is one of the biggest reasons for the recent success of this southern African nation. Botswana Athletics Association CEO Mabua Mabua said: "I have to thank the school sports programs we used to have, because basically all the athletes you see, the young ones, come from that program."

He also emphasized the country's infrastructure. "All the team preparations are done at home. Usually people say 'no, they should go to Europe, America to prepare'. Here, we have local coaches, a local environment."

The Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) runs programs for 15 sports to detect and nurture talent. Re Ba Bona Ha, meaning 'We see them here' in Setswana, is a coaching initiative for children aged 5 to 13, launched for football in 2002 and adding athletics in 2008. BNSC sports development manager Frederick Kebadiretse said up to 300 children attend athletics sessions each year.

Twice-yearly camps then identify older students for eight sports centers of excellence, established in 2011. The centers run afternoon and weekend sessions, with 30-40 students selected for athletics each year.

Sports officials warn that without school sports programs, suspended since 2019 due to a dispute between the government and teachers, Botswana's recent athletics success is at risk. "The pipeline is gone," said Martin Mokgwathi, chair of the world relays organizing committee. "Performance will drop unless something is done very, very quickly."

Botswana's female athletes have not matched the men's achievements. Oratile Nowe, the world's seventh-fastest 800m runner this year, is the current highest performer. Officials acknowledge more needs to be done to support women and girls. "We need to widen the pipeline to get more young women involved," Mokgwathi said. "The other thing, of course, is to encourage more women to become coaches and technical officials... And we need to protect young women entering sport to keep them there."

Isaac Makwala is trying to fill the pipelines. Makwala, an inspiration to many young athletes, was the first man to run 400m under 44 seconds and 200m under 20 seconds on the same day. The son of farmers from a northern Botswana village, he started running at school but did not compete until he was 21. After retiring in 2024, he founded the Isaac Makwala Athletics Academy, taking about 50 teenagers aged 12-16 through sprint drills five afternoons a week. "I have a daughter here, she pushes me to be a coach," he said. "I want to see how she runs later. Will she inherit my talent?"

Earlier this year, his 14-year-old daughter, Resego Kelly Makwala, became Botswana's under-18 women's 400m champion. "I really like it," she said. "The times. When I get a good time, a PB (personal best)."

Makwala's academy depends on motivated parents who can afford the 100 pula (£5.50) registration fee and 500 pula monthly fee. Tax officer Tuduetso Gaboutloeloe is one such parent. "I want to be honest with you, with the bad economy, I want to see her go far, maybe get a scholarship to progress well," she said. "Because right now, it's tough."

Her 13-year-old daughter, Leloba, runs the 800m and wants to try the 400m, dreaming of Olympic success. "I imagine myself winning a medal," she said.