This poetic bible verse, penned by apostle Paul, succinctly captures the life and legacy of the recently departed Gaone Leaname Maotoanong. The likable gentleman of the track passed on suddenly this past Thursday at the age of 35-years.
As a former national athletics team athlete, ‘Lux,’ as Maotoanong was affectionately known, knew how to fight a good fight and finish the race, in literal sense. Lux was team Botswana men’s 4x400m relay anchor when Botswana narrowly missed out on podium finish at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
That narrow miss out on the podium, and the negative energy directed towards him as an anchor could have discouraged many men. Not Lux though! He did not cringe. He fought back.
Two years post the Olympics, Maotoanong was the one who would set the pace for Botswana men’s 4x400m relay. This time, it was at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games down under in Australia. He was the first leg runner in the finals as Botswana stormed to a 4x400m relay gold at the games. Other members of that team were Baboloki Thebe, Onkabetse Nkobolo and Isaac Makwala, the latter running as the team anchor.
Not surprisingly, it was Maotoanong who took the microphone when the team arrived in Botswana from the games. During a presentation of prizes for the team at Orange Botswana, Lux uttered what may now seem as a prophetic statement.
‘The future is bright for us. If you could see gore rotlhe re kaenyana, le 2024 re tlabo re ntse re gella di phone hela. Ha go a hella gone ha,’ he said to a loud applause. This statement laid bare the faith the recently departed 400m runner had for the future of Botswana athletics.
He knew that the foundations had been laid. He had played his part in laying those foundations. Just as he had foretold, at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Botswana got her gold, two in fact. And one of those was in the men’s 4x400m relay. Prophesy fulfilled.
‘This is very painful. We lost not only an athlete but also a young leader. His passing has come as a shock for all of us because it was sudden. Losing someone so full of life so suddenly is difficult to comprehend,’ BAA president Oabona Theetso says.
The BAA president says as a young leader, Maotoanong was a calming force in the midst of crisis. His best show of leadership came at the Doha 2019 World Athletics Championships, which Theetso describes as the worst championships ever.
Ahead of the championships, Botswana lost two of its stars, Isaac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe to injuries. The two could not travel with the team. Once the team arrived in Doha, another star, Nijel Amos picked an injury at training.
And that was not all. Oratile Nowe and Galefele Moroko, who were part of the women’s 4x400m team also picked injuries. Moroko picked her injury in the quarterfinals of the women’s 400m. Their injuries meant Botswana could not compete in the women relays.
As if that was not enough, the men’s 4x400m relay team was also disqualified for starting outside the takeover zone. The disasters led to unhappiness and finger pointing within the camp, as some believed all these were acts of sabotage.
‘When chips were down and tensions were raging, Lux, who was our team captain, stood up to calm the storms. He became the voice of reason. He consoled us and told us to calm down as everything happened for a reason. That is what epitomised him as a young leader.’
‘It was because of this that he went on to become an athlete representative in our committees. Not just anyone could be elected to the post. That defined Lux as a person and a leader,’ Theetso reminisces.
The BAA president says it is not surprising therefore that his prophetic words in 2018 of athletics sweeping all incentives in 2024 had come to pass. ‘He was there when it all started. He played his part in setting the foundations.’
Fare Thee Well Champ, Gaone Leaname ‘Lux’ Maotoanong. You have run your race. You have earned your crown.