BAA to support Montsho’s return

BOINEELO RANKWAILA

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) has vowed to aid the 400m sprinter Amantle Montsho in her return to track events. The local queen of 400m has recently announced her comeback and with no hesitation to reclaim her throne. The 400m sprinter has served her two year ban from competing after she tested positive in Methylhexaneamine at the 2014 Commonweath games in Scotland.
Speaking exclusively to the Gazette Sport the president of BAA Moses Bantsi expressed their excitement upon Montsho’s return. He described Montsho as a world class athlete who made history in this country and they will welcome the former champion with warm hearts. He went on to say that,  “without a doubt Montsho has a significant impact on the local athletes especially the upcoming ones of which some are at Rio Brazil competing at the Olympics Games.”
Bantsi pointed out that he has no reason not to believe that Montsho will make a strong comeback looking at the fact that she is very much hungry for success and has made the association very proud in the past. “Amantle was an outstanding athlete who persisted in achieving for-herself and the country at large. She is a brand that we as a nation cannot ignore and we should give her all the support in her comeback,” said Bantsi.
When asked about what kind of support the association will provide, Bantsi told this publication that they are ready to walk side by side with Montsho, “we are going to give all the necessary support for our athlete, we are going to walk an extra mile to help her compete in all competitions that she will be participating in”.
Bantsi anticipates Montsho’s competitive debut to be early next year and hopefully qualify for the IAAF World Championships 2017  which will be held at London. He is also hoping to see Montsho competing at the IAAF Diamond League if she clocks good times.
In his closing remarks, Bantsi pleaded with the nation to be patient with Montsho, “we cannot ignore the fact that she has not been competing in the last two years and that on its own has a negative impact on her form, lets unite and rally behind our girl until she reaches her pick,” he concluded.