Rio 2016 finalist, Botswana’s Karabo Sibanda has already booked his spot at the forthcoming London 2017 IAAF World Championships, after winning the 400m at the Orapa Track and Field meeting held last Saturday.
According to dailynews.gov.bw, Sibanda, who finished in 5th place at the Rio Olympic Games, clocked an impressive time of 45.26s in his first official race of the year. The IAAF entry standard for the men’s 400m is 45.50s, and the qualification period is from 1st October 2016 to 23rd July 2017.
Sibanda is the third Botswana athlete to qualify for the Championships as teammates Baboloki Thebe and Nijel Amos have already made the cut by virtue of being the reigning African Champions in the men’s 400m and 800m respectively.
Speaking after his race, Sibanda revealed that he is already setting his sights on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where he hopes to make the podium.
He said: “It is a good start for the season, and my aim is to continue working very hard. I know I can improve my time, but I am happy I don’t have any pressure now to qualify.
“Yes I have qualified for the World Championships and I know how badly Batswana are salivating for yet another World Championships medal, but for me I want an Olympic medal, hence I should start preparing for it now. The World Championships in a way would be part of the preparations”.
