UB honours passionate Dipeba
ATHLETICS The University of Botswana (UB)this week celebrated the sporting achievements of renowned Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) coach and former track athlete Justice Dipeba in Gaborone.Dipeba recently shone at the 2018 Annual National Sports Awards after winning the Coach of the year accolade.
As an employee of UB, the University felt obliged to honour Dipeba, who continues to do stellar work in track and field. The coach remains a great asset to both the University and the athletics national team.This week, the Director of UB Culture, Sports and Recreation Raj Rathedi spoke highly of Dipeba, describing him as a man who sacrifices a lot for the sport of athletics in Botswana.
“He is a dedicated person and the award did not come as a surprise to me, he deserved it and we are very proud of him,” he said. Dipeba was once a national team athlete of repute and later moved on to become a successful track and field coach. In an interview with BG Sport this week, Dipeba said track and field coaching has been his calling. The coach who mentors some of the best athletes in the country said athletics remains close to his heart and he has been doing it voluntarily for as long as he can remember.
Born and breed in the Kweneng village of Mogoditshane, Dipeba’s coaching career dates back to the early days when he grew up in the village. Early on in his career the coach was fortunate enough to secure a track and field scholarship to the United States of America.Upon his return to Botswana, Dipeba got the opportunity to train in Level One and four coaching courses. In 2008, Dipeba studied for an elite coaching course (A diploma in coaching) at the High-Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa.
The energetic Dipeba later curved a path that will lead to a successful coaching career and began volunteering his services where needed. Before long the former runner had found his way to coach the national team.Dipeba specializes mostly in coaching sprints, relays and hurdles and he continues to be instrumental in nurturing some top local athletes.
Amongst some of his proteges include the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Isaac Makwala. When Makwala was still in the early phase of his career, Dipeba played a pivotal role in developing the promising athlete around 2011. Three years down the line, Makwala broke the African record completing a 400m race in 43.72s.Last year Makwala became a household name when he became the first man in history to run a solo 200m race at the 2017 IAAF World championships held in London. A proud Dipeba watched on as Makwala went on to win the 2017 Diamond league in 400m.
Nevertheless, Dipeba does not only work closely with Makwala, he also coaches the crème dela crème of local athletics including Christene ‘Size 10’ Botlogetswe, Amantle Montsho, Baboloki Thebe, Karabo Sibanda, Leungo Matlhaku, Boitumelo Masilo, Kabelo Kgosiemang and other developing athletes.Dipeba has also worked with the likes of Pako Seribe and Thapelo Ketlogetswe.
“Some of these athletes even got sport scholarships, meaning they temporarily lived and trained out of the country,” he said. Dipeba said it gives him gratification to see them excel at high international levels.Nevertheless, Dipeba said he remains passionate about coaching but it turns out to be a demanding career. The coach said his career needs strong willed individuals who are willing to go an extra mile and not only be a coach but a full-time parent to the athletes.
The coach said part of the sacrifices include spending time away from his family as he is always travelling with his athletes. However, it appears the athletics bug has captured his heart and he cannot resist it. “The athletes are part of my family and I am fortunate to have a family that supports me in everything that I do,” he said.