Kebinatshipi Overcomes Doubts to Win Silesia 400m in Meeting Record

Botswana’s Busang Collen Kebinatshipi returned to Diamond League action in style on Sunday, winning the men’s 400m at the Silesia meeting in a meeting-record 43.59 seconds.

The world champion had not raced since his victory in Monaco, where he clocked a personal best and Diamond League record of 43.44 seconds.

Kebinatshipi admitted he lacked confidence heading into the Silesia race after spending several weeks training without competition but said the victory has restored his belief ahead of the remaining races of the season.

‘I did not have a lot of confidence going into this competition because I have not raced since Monaco,’ Kebinatshipi said. ‘Since then I have just been training, trying to maintain form, not doing anything special or different.’

‘But I was a little scared after not racing for so long and it was difficult mentally for me because I did not really trust myself. But this was a good performance for me and I still have more races to come before the end of the season, so it should be easier now.’

The 22-year-old had already secured his place in the Diamond League Final in Brussels after winning four successive meetings earlier in the season, including Xiamen, Paris, Eugene and Monaco.