Botswana is a rising nation in the sport of athletics. The latest from the landlocked nation north of South Africa, located east of Namibia and bordering Zimbabwe and Zambia, is Busang Collen Kebinatshipi.
Collen Kebinatshipi
The 21-year-old is an Olympic silver medallist in the 4x400m relay. And on Thursday, he claimed his first senior global title of his career in style. He stormed to victory in the men’s 400m final with a world-leading and national record of 43.53 seconds at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships on September 18.
Kebinatshipi had already signalled his form in the semifinals, clocking a world-leading 43.61. Carrying that momentum into the final, he lined up with the confidence to go even faster and delivered.
“I’m so extremely grateful for this gold medal,” said Kebinatshipi. “I want to thank my team and my coach. The semi-final showed me that anything is possible as long as you believe in yourself. Today, I came out here to do just that. I’m forever grateful!”
Taking the silver is Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago in 43.72, while another Botswanan athlete Bayapo Ndori took bronze in 44.20.
Representing host country Japan, Yuki Joseph Nakajima acquitted himself well with a sixth-place 44.62 performance. Nakajima set a new personal best and national record with a 44.44 performance during the heats, four days prior.
Results
| Pos | Athlete | Nat. | Mark | RT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Busang Collen KEBINATSHIPI | BOT | 43.53 WL | 0.134 |
| 2 | Jereem RICHARDS | TTO | 43.72 NR | 0.145 |
| 3 | Bayapo NDORI | BOT | 44.20 SB | 0.144 |
| 4 | Rusheen MCDONALD | JAM | 44.28 | 0.201 |
| 5 | Zakithi NENE | RSA | 44.55 | 0.139 |
| 6 | Yuki Joseph NAKAJIMA | JPN | 44.62 | 0.201 |
| 7 | Jacory PATTERSON | USA | 44.70 | 0.141 |
| 8 | Lee Bhekempilo EPPIE | BOT | 44.77 | 0.151 |
