Africa-Press – Botswana. From junior ranks to global medals, Chilume Ntshwarang has quietly shaped Botswana’s track and field story.
In Botswana athletics, Chilume “Chippa” Ntshwarang has been a constant presence: rarely at the forefront but almost always there – guiding, instructing, and steadying the paths of athletes to stardom.
For much of his career, Ntshwarang’s work was with the national junior team.
In 2014, he was part of the technical team at the African Youth Games in Gaborone, where Karabo Sibanda and Baboloki Thebe stepped onto the podium and offered a glimpse of what was to come.
LETSILE’S LANDMARK 100M GOLD
Seven years later, he was leading the senior team at the World Athletics Championships when Botswana enjoyed its most successful campaign: three gold medals and a silver.
Letsile Tebogo, still a teenager, sprinted to a landmark 100m gold — the country’s first global medal in that event — before adding silver in the 200m. Anthony Pesela struck gold in the 400m, and the men’s 4x400m relay team joined him at the top of the podium.
BREAKTHROUGH OLYMPIC SUCCESS
The following year, in Paris, Tebogo won Botswana’s first Olympic gold medal, this time in the 200m race. The men’s 4x400m relay team took silver, confirming the nation’s place among the world’s sprinting powers.
COLLEN IN TOKYO
In Tokyo just days ago, Ntshwarang was once again head coach. Collen Kebinatshipi, an athlete that he personally trains, claimed the 400m world title while Lee Eppie reached the final in the same event on his debut.
The 4x400m relay team added another gold, underlining the consistency of Botswana’s rise.
But despite these international successes, Ntshwarang remains rooted in the classroom. A Physical Education teacher at Tlhomo Junior Secondary School in Kanye, he recalls how his own days as a sprinter set the stage.
ROOTED IN SCHOOL SPORTS
“Although I was an average athlete, I qualified for the BISA National Finals in both 200m and 400m in my final year at secondary school, representing the South Central region,” he said.
He added that football was his first sporting love until 2003 when he began teaching at Kgosimpe Junior Secondary School in Jwaneng. There he met veteran coach Innocent Sibanda, who drew him to athletics coaching.
“And I never looked back as I coached at both school and club level,” Ntshwarang said.
NATIONAL TEAM BEGINNINGS
“My performance caught the attention of Botswana Athletics Association who gave me the opportunity to coach the senior national team at one regional permit meet in Windhoek, Namibia in 2008. That is when my union with the national team began.”
Since then, Ntshwarang has been credited with nudging athletes into new events — among them sprinters Tsaone and Ditiro Sebele — in a willingness to experiment that has often borne fruit.
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