Anyone who has ever played left-back on a soccer field against a speedy right winger knows it can be a hairy experience. So defenders across the globe should breathe a sigh of relief that Botswana’s Isaac Makwala eventually decided to swap his footy boots for track spikes.
“I was a good footballer, and I was always up the right wing,” he laughs. “I was so fast, it was difficult to mark me! I concentrated on playing football until I was 23 but then I tried out athletics, and I realised I liked doing a solo event rather than a team one. I felt that I could be good, so I decided to become an athlete.”
Makwala believes his late start in professional sport is the reason it’s only now, aged 31, that he seems to be entering his prime. Last summer, at the Meeting de Atletismo Madrid, he became the first man ever to run the 200m in under 20 seconds (19.77) and the 400m in under 44 seconds (43.92) on the same day.
“I think starting late means I took longer to get fast, and I am definitely peaking a bit later than a lot of runners,” he says. “I’m feeling really good at the moment, and my training is going great, so I’m looking forward to the Gold Coast very much.”
Usain Bolt was a star attraction at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The sight of him anchoring Jamaica to 4x100m gold, and then dancing to The Proclaimers with the crowd, is one the Hampden Park spectators won’t forget in a hurry.
But with the greatest sprinter of all time since retired, there’s a vacancy at the top. Makwala feels it will be filled by another Commonwealth athlete.
“My aim is to become the best, to move up, and be number one,” he says.
“The 200m especially is wide open at the moment, and there is a chance for somebody new to try to dominate the event.
“There’s Wayde van Niekerk and of course the Jamaicans, who produce so many good runners. The competition is going to be really good. It’s an exciting time for the sport.”
On a personal level, Makwala hopes GC2018 will be an improvement on his experience at Glasgow 2014, where he was eliminated in the 400m semi-finals.
“Scotland was too cold for me. I thought I could race to get a medal, but I don’t perform well in that kind of weather,” he says.
“Australia should suit me better. I’ve never been before, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing it. I’m excited and I think I can do well. I’m not yet sure if I’m going to run the 200m, the 400m or both. But I want to bring a medal home.”
Makwala had an odd 2017. There was the blistering performance in Spain, but also the disappointment of the World Athletics Championships in London, during which he caught the norovirus and was initially barred from running in the heats.
He eventually completed a bizarre solo time trial to make the semi-finals (and celebrated with a press-up in front of a wild London crowd), but struggled in a final won by Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev.
“It wasn’t so good for me, and Rio (2016 Olympic Games, where he failed to reach the 400m final) wasn’t so good, but now I am looking for my chance this season,” he says. “We also should have a very competitive relay team at the Gold Coast.
“I feel like the Botswana team is top four in the world.”
Makwala’s mantra is ‘champions are not born, champions are made’. As a Manchester United and Barcelona-supporting soccer fan who loves Lionel Messi, the man who switched sports eight years ago knows what it takes to be a winner.
“Anything can be achieved through training hard and hard work,” he says. Few will be training harder, or running faster, at the Games.
GC2018 is the biggest event Australia has seen this decade and you could be part of it. Great tickets are still available for sports including Athletics, Hockey, Weightlifting, Squash and Badminton.
This article was produced by AMP Media.
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