Botswana national athletics coach Justice Dipeba has warned that the country’s elite track stars face a steep uphill battle to reach the Beijing 2027 World Athletics Championships following a drastic tightening of qualification criteria.

The global governing body, World Athletics, recently unveiled a revamped system that slashes automatic qualifying times across the board. In Botswana’s signature event, the men’s 400m, the mandatory time has plummeted from 44.85 seconds to a blistering 44.45 seconds. The women’s 400m entry time has experienced a similar drop, falling from 50.75 seconds to an even 50.00 seconds.

Dipeba expressed deep concern that the overhauled framework inherently disadvantages African athletes. Under the new guidelines, World Athletics aims to have only 40% of the field qualify through automatic time standards, leaving the remaining 60% to be selected via the global ranking system.

According to Dipeba, the ranking route heavily penalizes runners based on the continent, as it heavily factors in high-tier continental meets that are scarce in Africa. He noted that because many local events offer low ranking points, and African athletes frequently face major financial and visa hurdles trying to access elite European circuits, securing a spot on the global stage will become significantly harder.

–ChannelAfrica–