Botswana Government to celebrate world championships heroes with National Day off

The Botswana Government is set to celebrate and honour the heroic Busang Collen Kebinatshipi and other members of the men's 4x400m gold medal-winning squad for their historic feats at the just concluded Tokyo 2025 World Championships.

According to President Duma Boko, he hailed the gold medal as a "historic African win" and announced Monday, September 29, as a public holiday to celebrate the achievement - a day ahead of the country's independence day.

"I'll be sure to tell everyone, Botswana's natural diamonds are not just in the ground, they are our World Champion athletes," the president said, speaking from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

He described the moment as "electric", adding that Botswana's performance spoke to its rising stature on the global stage.

On Sunday, September 21, the men's 4x400m relay squad of Lee Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, and newly crowned world champion Busang Collen Kebinatshipi each gave brilliant individual performances to lead their country to victory in an exceptional 2:57:76.

They defeated the almighty USA to claim the gold medal - Africa's first world title in the event in history.

With their victory, Botswana became only the second African nation to win a relay gold at the World Championships, following South Africa’s triumph in the men’s 4x100m in 2001 in Edmonton, Canada.

Aside from their relay gold, Kebinatshipi also caused one of the major upsets in Tokyo, by storming to the men's 400m title, while his teammate Ndori claimed the bronze medal.

The southern African nation finished fifth overall in the championship's medal standings (2 gold and 1 bronze) - behind the US, Kenya, the Netherlands, and Canada.

Botswana's athletics have experienced significant growth in recent years, earning global recognition and demonstrating that the small nation is a formidable presence in the sport, poised to continue its influence for the foreseeable future.