LETLHOGILE MPUANG
2016 Rio Olympics 400meters finalist Karabo Sibanda was unsuccessful in his attempts to qualify for the finals of the 400meters finals at the ongoing Commonwealth games in Gold Coast, Australia. He ran an unimpressive 46:26seconds to finish fourth.
Sibanda is currently deemed as one of the future greats in the 400meters race, following his rise to stardom in 2016, that saw him record his Personal Best (PB) of 44.25 seconds at the Rio Olympics. He would go on to be rated fifth (5th) in the world in that year.
However, since early 2017, his progress has been hampered by injuries. Sibanda was forced to pull out of last season’s IAAF Diamond League meet in May due to a reoccurring hamstring injury, just a few months before the start of the 2017 Athletics World Championships in London. He would later fail to make the semi finals of the championships.
Going to Gold Coast, the Botswana National Olympic Commitee (BNOC) had set a target for eight (8) medals at the games. BNOC Chief Executive Officer Tuelo Serufho had revealed that they were expecting the bulk of the medals from the athletics team.
Despite making it over the heats in second place in a time of 46:15seconds, his 46:26seconds in the semi finals was not good enough to see him proceed to join countrymen Issac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe in the finals.
His only bit of action will now come in the 4X400 relay competition, where Team BW has been tipped as favorites to win gold.