Athletics has once again asserted its growing dominance on Botswana’s national sporting stage. The Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) recently announced the nominees for the 45th Botswana Sports Awards, with the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) emerging as the standout organization, securing eight nominations.
The list, released last week, reflects a season in which athletics continued to deliver medals, international recognition, and elite performances. Other sports, including football, tennis, judo, swimming, and chess, also earned nods. The spotlight, however, will be on the fiercely contested Sportsman of the Year category, where sprint sensation Collen Kebinatshipi carries the hopes of athletics against footballer Goitseone Phoko and judoka Tumiso Phuthego.
Kebinatshipi’s nomination underscores the rise of Botswana’s sprint program, which has become one of the country’s strongest exports on the global stage in recent years. In the Sportswoman of the Year category, athletics is represented by Oratile Nowe, who faces competition from karateka Centy Kgosikoma and chess player Naledi Banda.
Banda’s inclusion is particularly notable, highlighting the increasing respect for mind sports, which traditionally have been overshadowed by more mainstream disciplines. Youth categories reveal the depth of Botswana’s emerging talent. In the Junior Male Sportsperson of the Year category, athletics prospect Justice Oratile will compete with tennis player Ntungamili Raguin and bowler Edwin Nyoka.
Similarly, in the Junior Female category, athletics hopeful Same Mhutsiwa is shortlisted alongside swimmer Melodi Saleshando and judoka Neelo Modise. These nominations suggest that Botswana’s future success may lie not only in athletics but across a broadening range of sports.
The Team of the Year category provides perhaps the clearest indication of athletics’ supremacy. The men’s 4x400m relay team, the Botswana Davis Cup team, and the 4x400m mixed relay team from BOTESSA are all shortlisted.
The presence of two relay teams in one category underscores how Botswana’s relay culture has become a source of national pride and a strategic pathway to medals on the world stage. With Botswana preparing to host the World Athletics Relays, the recognition of these teams is both timely and politically significant.
Beyond athletes, the awards also recognize governance and technical excellence. The National Sport Association of the Year category features the Botswana Athletics Association competing against the Botswana Swimming Sport Association and the Botswana Table Tennis Association. For Umpire of the Year, athletics official Oratile Ndadziila is nominated alongside softball’s Abel Mataboge and basketball’s Dorothy Okatch.
The Coach of the Year category includes athletics mentor Chilume Ntshwarang, who faces competition from tennis coach Phenyo Matong and Botswana Football Association Under-20 national team coach Tapaphiwa Gaebolae. In disability sport, tennis player Omphile Botlhasitse and Paralympics Association of Botswana representative Gloria Majaga will compete for Female Sportsperson with Disability.
The Sport Administrator of the Year category offers a contest of boardroom influence, featuring table tennis president Kudzani Motswagole, bowling president Marea Modutlwa, and Botswana Football Association president Tariq Babitseng.
Dr. Lobone Kasale, chairperson of the adjudication panel, explained that athlete categories were determined through a holistic scoring model considering performance level, quality of competition, and final outcomes. “Competitors were assessed on appearances at national, regional, continental, Commonwealth, world, and Olympic events, as well as progression to semifinals, finals, and medal success,” she said. For coaches, administrators, and officials, judges evaluated impact, discipline, improvement, and contribution to sport development.