{"id":82695,"date":"2026-04-03T11:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals"},"modified":"2026-04-03T11:30:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:30:55","slug":"top-athletes-grace-baa-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals","title":{"rendered":"Top Athletes Grace BAA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\">           <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. <\/strong>         <\/span><b>This year\u2019s Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) National Finals are set to break with tradition, bringing together the country\u2019s top elite athletes on home soil in an uncommon show of depth and star power.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>BAA chief executive Mabua Mabua said the presence of leading athletes marks a notable shift from previous editions, where many would be competing abroad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsually during the time of national finals the country\u2019s elite athletes will be abroad running international meets like the Diamond League and others,\u201d he said in a telephone interview. \u201cSo this year they have made it upon themselves to grace the national finals to give Batswana a great show at the same time helping to build the excitement as the World Athletics Relays nears.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Star Lineup<\/p>\n<p>The event, scheduled for April 3 to 5 at the National Stadium, is expected to feature Olympic and world champions alongside other top talent.<\/p>\n<p>Among them is Letsile Tebogo, the reigning Olympic 200 meters champion, who is expected to compete in the 100m and 200m, with a possible appearance in the 400m. He will be joined by Collen Kebinatshipi, the current world 400m champion, who is also expected to run the 100m.<\/p>\n<p>In the men\u2019s 400m, Bayapo Ndori and Leungo Scotch \u2014 part of Botswana\u2019s gold medal-winning 4x400m relay team at last year\u2019s World Athletics Championships \u2014 are expected to compete, alongside Lee Eppie.<\/p>\n<p>The men\u2019s 800m field will include Kethobogile Haingura, while Tshepiso Masalela is set to compete in the 1500m.<\/p>\n<p>Women\u2019s Field<\/p>\n<p>The women\u2019s events will feature Oratile Nowe, the national record holder in both the 800m and 1500m. Nowe clocked 4:07.13 in the 1500m in February, continuing her strong run of form.<\/p>\n<p>She will be joined by Obakeng Kamberuka in the 400m, alongside Naledi Monthe and Kennekae Batisani.<\/p>\n<p>Relay Focus<\/p>\n<p>Mabua said the gathering of elite athletes also presents an opportunity to boost the sport\u2019s profile and attract sponsorship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis means a lot for us,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will go a long way in helping promoting our athletics, still also those who will sponsor this year\u2019s national finals will get the needed exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>National team coach Chilume Ntshwarang said the timing of the finals is significant as preparations continue for the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone from May 2 to 3.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that the competition will help finalize the national team.<\/p>\n<p>Entrance fees are set at P50 for the grandstand and P30 for other sections, with free entry for children under 15.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">           Find more news and analyses on           <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Botswana<\/span>           on the           <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span>           website         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. This year\u2019s Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) National Finals are set to break with tradition, bringing together the country\u2019s top elite athletes on home soil in an uncommon show of depth and star power. BAA chief executive Mabua Mabua said the presence of leading athletes marks a notable shift from previous editions, where [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-82695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Top Athletes Grace BAA Finals - Botswana<\/title>\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\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Athletes Grace BAA Finals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. This year\u2019s Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) National Finals are set to break with tradition, bringing together the country\u2019s top elite athletes on home soil in an uncommon show of depth and star power. BAA chief executive Mabua Mabua said the presence of leading athletes marks a notable shift from previous editions, where [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals\" \/>\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=\"2026-04-03T11:30:55+00:00\" \/>\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=\"2 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\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Top Athletes Grace BAA Finals\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-03T11:30:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals\"},\"wordCount\":432,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2026\/04\/sm_1775220978.210267.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/top-athletes-grace-baa-finals\",\"name\":\"Top Athletes Grace BAA Finals - 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