Not sure we fully understand the gravity of what we witnessed in the mens 400m semi-finals earlier today.
Botswana pulling some "Team USA circa '90's tomfoolery and have 3 men in the final of the 400m. Even though this was quite commonplace in the 90's (where team USA I believe had 3 men in the final of the 400m for the 5 WC's in that decade), it hasn't been done in 18 years or 8 editions of the world champs. The last time it was done was in 2007 when the USA team of Wariner, Merritt and Angelo Taylor went 1-2-3.
That was crazy though, including the 10th fastest time in history from semi-final 2 from Kebinatshipi who ran 43.61 only nose breathing apparently which is the fastest non-finals performance in history.
Last year in Paris the Botswanian team also came from nowhere to push the US team to an Olympic record only 0.14 off the WR from 1993 with themselves running the 3rd fastest time ever run at 2.54.53. But this year they are going to at least sub in Eppie, second in the first semi, for Pesela and will likely have Tebogo again at their disposal.
I think we are going to see the WR obliterated by Botswana in the final.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Not sure we fully understand the gravity of what we witnessed in the mens 400m semi-finals earlier today.
Botswana pulling some "Team USA circa '90's tomfoolery and have 3 men in the final of the 400m. Even though this was quite commonplace in the 90's (where team USA I believe had 3 men in the final of the 400m for the 5 WC's in that decade), it hasn't been done in 18 years or 8 editions of the world champs. The last time it was done was in 2007 when the USA team of Wariner, Merritt and Angelo Taylor went 1-2-3.
That was crazy though, including the 10th fastest time in history from semi-final 2 from Kebinatshipi who ran 43.61 only nose breathing apparently which is the fastest non-finals performance in history.
Last year in Paris the Botswanian team also came from nowhere to push the US team to an Olympic record only 0.14 off the WR from 1993 with themselves running the 3rd fastest time ever run at 2.54.53. But this year they are going to at least sub in Eppie, second in the first semi, for Pesela and will likely have Tebogo again at their disposal.
I think we are going to see the WR obliterated by Botswana in the final.
Not sure we fully understand the gravity of what we witnessed in the mens 400m semi-finals earlier today.
Botswana pulling some "Team USA circa '90's tomfoolery and have 3 men in the final of the 400m. Even though this was quite commonplace in the 90's (where team USA I believe had 3 men in the final of the 400m for the 5 WC's in that decade), it hasn't been done in 18 years or 8 editions of the world champs. The last time it was done was in 2007 when the USA team of Wariner, Merritt and Angelo Taylor went 1-2-3.
That was crazy though, including the 10th fastest time in history from semi-final 2 from Kebinatshipi who ran 43.61 only nose breathing apparently which is the fastest non-finals performance in history.
Last year in Paris the Botswanian team also came from nowhere to push the US team to an Olympic record only 0.14 off the WR from 1993 with themselves running the 3rd fastest time ever run at 2.54.53. But this year they are going to at least sub in Eppie, second in the first semi, for Pesela and will likely have Tebogo again at their disposal.
I think we are going to see the WR obliterated by Botswana in the final.
Just Kenya 2.0. only on the sprint side. Just like with Tebogo, all the Africans are doping, but only Kenya tests (poorly) which catches a fraction of those doping. Little testing in Epiopia, Uganda or Botswana yet. ALL of Africa should be banned, just like Russia - as all countries have state sponsored doping programs. Mind you Oceania (Aussie,NZ), Europe, UK, and Jamaica ( likely Canada as well as it is a commie country these days), all dope with impunity as well. Why is it that the only honest people in the world are Americans? Shelby was railroaded, and I don't consider blacks or others as real Americans.
Just Kenya 2.0. only on the sprint side. Just like with Tebogo, all the Africans are doping, but only Kenya tests (poorly) which catches a fraction of those doping. Little testing in Epiopia, Uganda or Botswana yet. ALL of Africa should be banned, just like Russia - as all countries have state sponsored doping programs. Mind you Oceania (Aussie,NZ), Europe, UK, and Jamaica ( likely Canada as well as it is a commie country these days), all dope with impunity as well. Why is it that the only honest people in the world are Americans? Shelby was railroaded, and I don't consider blacks or others as real Americans.
I'm going to ignore this post because it was obviously made in bad faith but I'm going to piggyback off this general sentiment because I've seen a lot of people asking about Botswana in the past 24 hours and apparently i've been the only person paying attention to them the past few years.
Botswana has a SIGNIFICANTLY higher standard of living and median wealth compared to like... every other country in Africa. The reasons aren't particularly important to this post but it's very important to note because similar talent exists in much of west Africa but only a country like Botswana, who doesn't have a majority of their population living in extreme poverty, can take advantage of that talent.
This "sudden" rise in Batswana dominance in the 400 is nearly a decade in development. Lets start at the beginning - Isaac Makwala. He was(and I think still is) the only man to run under 44 and 20 seconds on the same day, but fell short of international stardom. Still, he laid the path for everything that followed and showed what was possible.
In 2016, Baboloki Thebe and Karabo Sibana became their first U20 stars in the 400, both running 44.2, although they never really made a huge impact on the international stage, with their major wins being limited to regional championships (Thebe did go on to run 44.02). Still though - two juniors running 44.2. That's pretty nasty, and gave the country important experience with developing high-level junior talent.
Over the next several years, Botswana 400m running would go through a stagnation that wouldn't really change until after the pandemic with the rise of a new generation, led by talented junior Anthony Pesela. Pesela, alongside a bunch of other names you might recognize, namely Zibane Ngozi, Legundo Scotch, and Bayapo Ndori, would win a bronze medal in the 2021 Olympic 4x400.
This medal was a really big deal. It showed that they could compete at the top level, sticking it to the best in the world without a single man running under 44 seconds that year. Botswana usually takes post-Olympic years as easy years, and 2022 reflected that, but in 2023 they prepared for the ramp up to the Olympics and it was reflected in their athletes development. The new generation of Ndori, Tebogo, Kebinatshipi, and Scotch all ran under 45 seconds.
2024 showed the fruits of the past Olympic cycle. Ndori went from 44.6 to 44.1, Kebinatshipi, still a u20, went from 44.8 to 44.2, ect. After a few off years even Pesela joined them under 45, and a whole host of other guys ran low 45s.
Now in 2025 is it any wonder. Botswana has one of, if not THE premier 400 squad in the world after all of that?
To conclude, here are some of the reasons we are where we are:
1. More than a decade of experience in 400 meter development at the junior and senior level. This really, really matters, more than you can imagine. High level sprints are f*cking difficult to coach to success at championships.
2. Rejection of the NCAA system. The NCAA system sucks for basically anyone out of the US - Joe Fahn, Shaun, and Louie Hinchliffe just to name a few guys from recent years. These guys staying home and training together under a homegrown system designed for their environment and resources allowed them to develop perfectly.
3. Star power, from guys like Makwala and Tebogo that led the way - Tebogo especially with his Olympic gold. You guys think its bad now? Watch what happens when this second generation that was inspired by Tebogo hits the world stage.
Not sure we fully understand the gravity of what we witnessed in the mens 400m semi-finals earlier today.
Botswana pulling some "Team USA circa '90's tomfoolery and have 3 men in the final of the 400m. Even though this was quite commonplace in the 90's (where team USA I believe had 3 men in the final of the 400m for the 5 WC's in that decade), it hasn't been done in 18 years or 8 editions of the world champs. The last time it was done was in 2007 when the USA team of Wariner, Merritt and Angelo Taylor went 1-2-3.
That was crazy though, including the 10th fastest time in history from semi-final 2 from Kebinatshipi who ran 43.61 only nose breathing apparently which is the fastest non-finals performance in history.
Last year in Paris the Botswanian team also came from nowhere to push the US team to an Olympic record only 0.14 off the WR from 1993 with themselves running the 3rd fastest time ever run at 2.54.53. But this year they are going to at least sub in Eppie, second in the first semi, for Pesela and will likely have Tebogo again at their disposal.
I think we are going to see the WR obliterated by Botswana in the final.
Not even the whole country of Botswana. Don’t all of there best just come out of one region?
On the flip side, what's going on with both the American men and women. Outside Sidney, they all looked like ass. Patterson barely made it in. Men are going to get cooked in the 4x400 by a possible WR team from Botswana.
Not all of them. But I remember some Big, Big names like Nijel Amos and Amantle Montsho. Remember that Amos ran 1:41 13 years ago without wavelights, without actual shoes without bicarbonate, at 17 years old. He didn't have at that time a proper arm movement. And between 800m rounds, he could ran a 43.8 4x4 leg.
I think Botswana do something else - all their best 100-200 guys train for 400. Like the Eastern Bloc used to train all their best 100-200 people for horizontal jumps, because they realised they couldn't medal in the 100-200.
On the flip side, what's going on with both the American men and women. Outside Sidney, they all looked like ass. Patterson barely made it in. Men are going to get cooked in the 4x400 by a possible WR team from Botswana.
Het American white dude, don't be too upset when the USA takes home the gold in the 4x400. Will bump this when it happens.
Not all of them. But I remember some Big, Big names like Nijel Amos and Amantle Montsho. Remember that Amos ran 1:41 13 years ago without wavelights, without actual shoes without bicarbonate, at 17 years old. He didn't have at that time a proper arm movement. And between 800m rounds, he could ran a 43.8 4x4 leg.
Amos might just be the most talented 800m runner we have ever seen, but he did not run 1:41 at 17 years old, although he did run 1:41 at 18 and at 25. He also ran 1:42 at 20, 21, 24 and 27.
Doping cases are not showing any signs of slowing down. With one cropping up after the other, they are instead picking up pace. The Minister of Sport and Arts, Jacob Kelebeng???s silence on the National Assembly floor concern...
The fastest third place finish in a semi final ever before this year was 44.21 by Ian Morris in Barcelona. Jacory Patterson ran 44.19 and got 4th. He ran faster than every one else except for the three people in his heat.
On top of that, he was running on one of the far outside lanes, despite winning his heat, and didn't have anyone to run against, basically running on his own.
Yeah I kind of wanted to separate the issues on this one. Multiple things could be true at the same time, I won't comment for now on what my opinion is.
All I do know is getting 3 men into a global 400m final is very rare feat for a nation. I'm sure it's only been done by the Americans and the British one time in '97.
The reasons for how this happened/s (including the US of the past) - everyone has an opinion.
But when I look at the lineup of Botswana last year that ran within a few meters of the WR and the potential lineup this year, there is a chance they could run under 2.54 which is just mind boggling.
