Collen Kebinatshipi (© Monirul Bhuiyan)
World 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi displayed his sprint versatility at the Botswana Championships in Gaborone on Friday (3) by stepping down to the 100m and clocking 9.89 – twice.
The 22-year-old, who won 400m and 4x400m gold at the World Championships last year, has started 2026 with a brief focus on shorter sprint distances. A few weeks after clocking a wind-assisted 9.75 over 100m, he lined up for the same event at the Botswana Championships and sped to a 9.89 (0.8m/s) clocking in the semifinals.
About five hours later, he ran another 9.89 (1.2m/s) to win the final, finishing well clear of Gaodiraone Lobatlamang (10.21). Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo had lined up for the heats but withdrew due to an injury.
“I’ve been focusing more on the 400m in training, but I’ve been using the 100m to sharpen up my speed,” said Kebinatshipi, who ran 44.55 in his first 400m race of the year two weeks ago. “I’m happy with the time, this is what I’ve been preparing for.”
Kebinatshipi moved to 10th on the world all-time list when he set a national record of 43.53 to win the world 400m title in Tokyo last year. He now joins Wayde van Niekerk, Michael Norman and Fred Kerley as the only men in history to break 44 seconds for 400m and 10 seconds for 100m.
