Following Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi’s impressive performances in the 100m race in Swakopmund last weekend, their coach Henk Botha said they are strongly contemplating competing in that distance on the international circuit this season.
Olympians Mboma and Masilingi ran in the first leg of the Athletics Namibia (AN) Grand Prix on Saturday, which saw Mboma winning the race in a time of 11.25 seconds, while Masilingi came second in 11.37.
Botha told New Era Sport that he was impressed with the times the two athletes clocked as they ran at sea level, and there was a slight headwind.
Going into the race, their target was 11.04 because it is still pre-season, he noted.
“To be honest with you, I think we can look at sub-11 (seconds) very quicker than we thought, and we might be looking at introducing the 100m into the season. We will see how it is going and how the plans are going, but I’m fairly excited with the current level of the girls, and it looks like our plans for the year are starting to work,” enthused Botha.
The two prominent sprinters will again be in action tomorrow during the second leg of the Grand Prix at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek.
However, they will compete in the 200m race, and not 100m.
Meanwhile, Botha told Nampa that with the international athletics season looming, they still have a couple of things to do, but they will be ready for the 2022 athletics season.
“We have a long season that starts in May, and we are also preparing to compete in the African Champs, World Champs, Commonwealth Games and the Diamond League. So, we thought it’s better to prepare for the outdoor season than the indoor championships,” he observed.
Unlike in Swakopmund, there will be 200m, 400m, 800m as well as the 5000m for women tomorrow, said AN president Erwin Naimhwaka. Several field codes are also on offer
He said they have invited all athletics clubs in the country, and anticipate a huge turnout.
“According to the registered numbers that we have seen, it is promising to be an exciting event, and we are looking forward,” he added.