Athletics season full of promise

The first Grand Prix for senior athletes will be held on Saturday, 27 January at the Vineta Stadium. This competition, so early in the season, offers especially athletes at the coast the opportunity to measure themselves against national and international standards.

With the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, in mind, athletes worldwide will want to qualify for the sporting spectacle as soon as possible.

Christine Mboma got the green light from World Athletics last year and can officially return to the track in April. She and Beatrice Masilingi are possibly Namibia's best chance to qualify for the Games in the sprints.

However, youthful Elton Hoebeb might surprise everybody by qualifying for the Olympic Games. Hoebeb concentrates on the 100, 200 and 400-metre sprints.

Mboma (20) will not be able to participate in the 400-metre race but will be able to participate in the 100 and 200-metre sprints. It is not yet known which of the two items will be her specialty number.

Track star

On 30 April 2022 at the National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana, during an international event, she ran the 100 in a blazing 10.97 seconds for an under-20 African record and a national senior record. It was only her fifth 100 race and also the last before she suffered an injury in Nairobi, Kenya, the same year.

She achieved her existing 200-metre world record in the under-20 division with 21.78 seconds in 2021 in Zurich, Switzerland, at the Weltklasse Diamond League final as an 18-year-old. This is also the senior African and Namibian record.

She came very close to her 200 world record in Gaborone in April 2022, when she won with 21.87. After a nagging injury she sustained in Nairobi, she picked up a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a relatively slow 22.80.

This was Mboma's last official participation. A fresh and hungry Mboma may once again capture the imagination of Namibians and athletic enthusiasts worldwide with her exceptional talent. She turns 21 years old in May and will enter the starting blocks as a more mature athlete.

Back home

Beatrice Masilingi (20), Mboma's former training partner, is back in Namibia after severing all ties with her agent and coach in South Africa. Masilingi swapped Namibia for South Africa and a new coach in Pretoria in 2022. She is preparing for the Olympics in the capital.

Unfortunately, since her departure, she has not been able to achieve the same results again under the coaching of Hennie Kriel in South Africa. She did shrink the African record in the 300 m to 34.60 in February 2023. In March 2023, she ran only one 100 with catastrophic results in 23.34 and did not run a single 200.

If Masilingi can reach the level she achieved under the mentorship of coach Henk Botha, she can also qualify for the Olympic Games in the 100 and 200 metre sprints.

Long jump prospect

Lionel Coetzee stretched the Namibian senior long jump record to 8.27 metres last year. With this distance in the bag, he qualified for the World Championship in Hungary.

However, Coetzee's campaign in Budapest was not what the young athlete would have liked. However, this was his first international participation, with enormous pressure on him among the big names.

The experience he gained there could come in handy in 2024. If he can stretch the tape measure again past 8.27 m, he can possibly also pack his bags for Paris.

Olympic qualifying standards

100m: Men (10.00), women (11.07)

200m: Men (20.16), women (22.57)

Long jump: Men (8.27 metre)

Registration

Athletes and officials can register for the new season with Athletics Namibia until the end of February 2024 for N$50. However, the amount doubles from 1 March for late registrations to N$100 for athletes and officials.

– [email protected]