Garenamotse and Montsho in line for top Botswana award

Botswana's track athletes Gable Garenamotse and Amantle Montsho are front runners in the race to be named the nation's best sportsperson of last year.

There is an air of anxiety and expectation within the sports fraternity ahead of the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) awards.

Many sports analysts feel that the Botswana Athletics Associations (BAA) Gable Garenamotse stands a good chance of snatching the award given his success in most international competitions competed for in the past year.

The Long Jumper reached the World Championship finals and was a silver medalist in Abuja grand prix.

He was the national championship gold medalist. That not withstanding, some people argue that the Botswana Boxing Associations (BoBA) Mmoloki Nogeng has done the country proud in several meets to deserve a special recognition.

He won a bronze medal from the national championships, 57kg gold medal from Zone VI and became a silver medalist from the Africa Senior Boxing Championship.

Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) Vikishikhali Majama is also a force to reckon with given his spectacular accomplishments in both the local and regional meets.

He won a gold medal in Kumite during BOKA national championships and was a gold medalist in Zone VI championship.

He went on to claim another gold during the fifth karate Commonwealth Games in South Africa.

In the women category, all eyes are on 400m runner Amantle Montsho to see if she repeat her last year's feat by being crowned the sportswoman of the year again.

Montsho reached the 400m women's final of the World Championship in Berlin and won a gold medal in the Zone VI championships.

This time, however, she found herself pitted against another sterling achiever and strong contender, Ogone Gabaratane of the Botswana Netball Association (BONA) who was selected the best during the COSANA games held in South Africa.

Gabaratane went on to prove her mettle when she was selected as the overall best player in the Choppies tournament.

Another likely candidate is BOKAs Bathami Ikhutseng.

Ikhutseng won gold in Kumite during the Commonwealth Games and also registered a silver medal in the same category during the Zone VI championships.