{"id":22142,"date":"2023-02-15T14:43:39","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T14:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor"},"modified":"2023-02-15T16:10:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T16:10:27","slug":"makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor","title":{"rendered":"Makwala Returns to the Track as Individual Competitor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Botswana\u2019s 400m sensation Isaac Makwala has returned to the track no long after announcing his retirement from international athletics following his participation in the 2o22 World Championships in Oregon, USA in July last year.<\/b><\/p>\n

And the magnificent athlete wants it known that he will be in the highly-anticipated Botswana Golden Grand Prix in April.<\/p>\n

Makwala made it clear that he was ending his over 15 years of a successful athletics career where he represented and won medals for Botswana in almost all major world events except for the World Championships.<\/p>\n

He started his physical training last month and was spotted at the University of Botswana (UB) training with his coach, Justice Dipeba.<\/p>\n

Strong warning<\/b><\/p>\n

The magnificent athlete competed in the recent Debswana Track and Field Series in Francistown where he took part in the 200m and the 400m races, clocking 20.93 and 46.34 respectively to send a strong warning to his closest local on the home front.<\/p>\n

In an interview thereafter, Makwala said it felt good to be back on the track after a short break, adding quite remarkably that he never said he had completely retired from athletics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am back where I never left,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why people are so surprised by my return because I have never said I has retired from athletics. What I said was that I was retiring from international athletics which concern national team events.<\/p>\n

Not unlike football players <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI am still going to compete individually on continental tour and diamond league events, among others. My retirement is not different from that of football players who always announce their retirement from international events but keep playing for their individual clubs at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always made it clear that I provide for my family through athletics and I won\u2019t retire, especially that I still feel energetic and fit to compete. I want people to understand this and get it right so that they are not confused when they see me competing abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 37-years old track record-breaking athlete has medals from the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, World Relays, the Diamond League and the Africa Championships.<\/p>\n

He confirmed that he will be competing in the highly-anticipated Botswana Golden Grand Prix that is slated for the National Stadium in Gaborone on 29 April alongside other big-name athletes from around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am currently preparing myself to compete against the best in the world this April in Gaborone,\u201d he emphasised. \u201cThe event will be my first competitive international event. I will use it to gauge my performance and plot my next move because my wish is to compete in this year\u2019s Diamond League and other paying races across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Role model<\/b><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, BAA Vice President Administration Oabona Theetso has told this publication that they are excited that Makwala is returning because the outstanding runner serves as a role model for young athletes that BAA has on its team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese young athletes look up to Makwala and see him as an inspiration,\u201d he said. \u201cHis presence plays a big part in the progress of the team. The likes of Bayapo Ndori, Zibani Ngozi, Anthony Pesela and Collen Kebinatshipi are currently doing well and we believe Makwala will push them to do their best.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana\u2019s 400m sensation Isaac Makwala has returned to the track no long after announcing his retirement from international athletics following his participation in the 2o22 World Championships in Oregon, USA in July last year. And the magnificent athlete wants it known that he will be in the highly-anticipated Botswana Golden Grand Prix […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":22141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-22142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nMakwala Returns to the Track as Individual Competitor - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Botswana\u2019s 400m sensation Isaac Makwala has returned to the track no long after announcing his retirement from intern ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Makwala Returns to the Track as Individual Competitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Botswana\u2019s 400m sensation Isaac Makwala has returned to the track no long after announcing his retirement from intern ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-15T14:43:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-15T16:10:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/02\/postQueueImg_1676462802.06.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1170\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Makwala Returns to the Track as Individual Competitor\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-15T14:43:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-15T16:10:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor\"},\"wordCount\":561,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/02\/postQueueImg_1676462802.06.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/makwala-returns-to-the-track-as-individual-competitor\",\"name\":\"Makwala Returns to the Track as Individual Competitor - 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