Namibia’s Golden Girls Line Up
NAMIBIA’s golden girls, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi make their debut at the Tokyo Olympic Games today when the women’s 200m heats get underway.
Both Namibians have been drawn in tough first round heats which start at 03h30 Namibian time this morning with Masilingi up against 100m silver medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica and former world champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands in Heat 2, while Mboma is up against one of the favourites for gold, Gabriella Thomas of the United States in Heat 4.
With only the top three in each of the seven heats, as well as the two fastest fourth-placed athletes qualifying for the semifinals, the competition will be fierce amongst a star-studded field in one of the most anticipated events at the Olympics.
Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica already set the tone when she won gold in a brilliant 100m final on Saturday in a Jamaican clean sweep with Fraser Pryce winning silver and Shericka Jackson bronze, and all three will be strong contenders in the 200m.
Fraser-Pryce set the second fastest 200m time in the world this year of 21,79 seconds, while Thompson-Herah has a personal best time of 21,66 seconds and Jackson a PB of 21,82.
Thomas, meanwhile, set the fastest time in the world this year of 21,61, while other contenders include Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas (PB of 21,74) and Jenna Prandini of the United States (21,89 PB).
The Africans Marie Josee Ta Loo of the Ivory Coast (22,08 PB) and Gina Bass of Gambia (22,58 PB) could also be in the mix, and with a such a strong field, Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old world record of 21,34 seconds could come under threat.
The Namibians’ coach Henk Botha yesterday said the Namibians were prepared and ready.
“The preparations have gone well without any hiccups and the girls are very focused and in good spirits. The weather is hot and nice for the sprinters,” he said, adding that he expects a great 200m event.
“We saw the 100m last night and what a final of women’s sprinters in this world currently and that will not be different from the 200m. This is going to be a tough one for the youngsters, but we know and trust that they will do the best that they can for the national team as well as for the country and all their supporters,” he said.
“So thanks again for everyone who have been supporting us and yes, we need you in your prayers and we need you supporting us – please we want everybody to be there, to support and shout and be there for the girls,” he added.
Namibia’s lightweight boxer Jonas Junias Jonas’s Olympics campaign, meanwhile, came to an end when he lost 5-0 to Australia’s Harry Garside in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
All five judges gave the fight to Garside, with three scoring it 30-27 and two 29-28 for the Australian.
Jonas later confirmed the end of his amateur career saying he would turn professional now.
“We are looking forward to bigger things in the professional ranks, while the Covid and no proper training camp resulted in this loss. It was really tough trying to prepare in this pandemic.”
On Friday, Maike Diekmann came sixth in the Women’s Rowing Single Sculls C Final to finish 18th overall out of the event’s 32 competitors.
Diekmann finished in a time of 7:52,17 – 12,64 seconds behind the winner, Tatsiana Klimovich of Belarus, while Lovisa Claesson of Sweden came second and Jovana Arcic of Serbia third.
It brought an end to Diekmann’s Olympic campaign and her coach Grant Dodds said it had been an incredible experience.
“Five years of hard work and 18th out of 32 nations at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. We couldn’t be more proud of Maike and the way she has raced and represented Namibia at these Olympics. Thank you to everyone for all the support and sharing this incredible journey! It has been simply incredible,” he said.
By Namibian.
