Renowned athletics coach Henk Botha yesterday provided an update on the recuperation of the country’s Tokyo Olympics star Beatrice Masilingi, who was forced to limp off midway through a race during the recent Gaborone International Meet in Botswana.
Masilingi, who a few weeks ago suffered a similar fate during her participation in their US tour, was expected to be among the top attractions along with teammate and Tokyo Olympics 200m silver medallist Christine Mboma at the Gaborone International Meet, but it was not to be for her.
While Mboma went on to clinch both the 100m and 200m races in astounding fashion, Masilingi, however, didn’t finish her race as she was seen gripping onto her right leg and limping off the tracks in excruciating pain.
Coach Botha, in yesterday’s briefing with the media via WhatsApp, confirmed that the 19-year-old sprint star suffered a torn hamstring, which also led to the damage of other surrounding tissues in her right leg.
Botha shared that the athlete will now undergo a 10-day recuperation period, where more tests and scans will be done to see if she will make it on time for this month’s Prefontaine Classic Diamond League Meeting, or the Africa Athletics Championships taking place in June.
“I have been speaking to Beatrice, and she is really in high spirits and looking forward to her full recovery. So, for now, we will leave it in the hands of her physiotherapists to make sure she is well-recovered and well-conditioned for the upcoming races. But I’m happy that she is in good spirits, as that is very important when going through such a process,” he added.
Masilingi won silver medals in both the 100m and 200m at last year’s World U/20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
She also achieved the second-fastest world U/18 time in the 400m and the third-fastest world U/20 time in history with her marks of 50.42 seconds and 49.53 seconds, respectively, set in December 2020 in Pretoria, South Africa and during April 2021 at the All Comers Meet in Lusaka, Zambia.
- ohembapu@nepc.com.na