18/08/2025
Can Botswana Help Us Raise Oratile Nowe?
Oratile Nowe is rapidly becoming one of Africa’s brightest middle-distance stars. The 800-meter specialist shaved 0.73 seconds off her previous national record this past weekend, clocking 1:56.76 to finish third in a non-Diamond League meet in Silesia, Poland. It was her second national record this season—proof of a rising athlete approaching her peak.
But as her times fall, questions rise about whether Botswana is doing enough to support her.
“They just see her performing,” says her coach, Samuel Sepeng, speaking from South Africa. “They don’t know what she eats, where she stays, or her challenges. I’ve never received a call or even a thank-you letter from the Botswana Athletics Association.”
Sepeng, is widely credited for the rise of Botswana’s middle-distance scene, having helped elevate athletes like Tshepiso Masalela, Tumo Nkape, and Kethobogile Haingura.
“I’m not asking for money,” he says. “Just recognition. A letter. Something to show we are in this together.”
With the World Championships in Tokyo on the horizon, Sepeng believes Nowe has medal potential. But talent alone, he warns, won’t be enough.
“Let’s support each other,” he says. “These athletes need all of us.”
Read more from Sepeng’s interview in the upcoming Wednesday edition.
