Look out: Busang Collen Kebinatshipi is only getting started.
The 21-year-old Botswanan clocked another world lead in the men’s 400m to win his first major championship in 43.53 at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 on Tuesday (16 September).
Kebinatshipi held off Jereem Richards (43.72) and was joined on the National Stadium podium by his countryman Bayapo Ndori (44.20). Kebinatshipi and Ndori gave their country its first medals of the championships.
But it was anything but going to Kebinatshipi’s head.
“Getting a gold medal is the dream come true for us,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to come so early for me at this age but it shows that I’m able to do even more on the coming 10 years because you know, I’m still a child, I’m still young.
“So for me I just have to focus more on my body in spite of everything that I’ve been doing on a daily basis to improve myself.”
Kebinatshipi led from start to finish. Richards did well to close the gap down the final straight but not enough to wrest the lead.
Kebinatshipi said he knew the bull’s eye was on his back after setting a world lead in the semi-finals but considered the final as an entirely different proposition.
And he’s not about to celebrate just yet with the 4x400m relay penciled in for Saturday.
“Coming to this final, I treated it as a new race,” Kebinatshipi said.
“I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself after the semis because everyone has been looking out to me and have been watching me.
“So for me coming to this final, I didn’t want to bring anything that I did from the semi because you know, I knew everyone was watching out for me.
“But coming to the final, I treated this as a new race.”
AloJapan.com