Namibian track and field star Christine Mboma’s return to competitive action is eagerly awaited by many of her fans.
She was last in action in May 2022 in Kenya at the Kip Keino Classic, but her race was short-lived as she pulled a hamstring. The following March, World Athletics (WA) banned her and other Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) athletes from further participation unless they lowered their higher-than-usual testosterone levels.
She complied, and after receiving the green light from WA to return to competition, Mboma is now training in anticipation of international competitions; one being a continental competition in two weeks, in which the organisers want to showcase her as the face of the competition.
However, her coach Henk Botha has advised against putting too much pressure on the 20-year-old athlete as she is returning from injury.
He stressed that Mboma’s return to the podium will not be a quick fix, but a journey.
“Nothing will happen in the first and second races. But with the Paris Olympic Games approaching in August, that’s where our focus lies,” said Botha.
He explained that just last month, Mboma picked up a quad muscle injury, and was rushed to Swakopmund for rehabilitation.
“She has recovered, but it has set back her training,” he said.
Sounding happy and cheerful, she insisted that she was not feeling any pressure, saying “I won’t focus if I feel outside pressure. I do this for myself.”
Regarding Mboma’s preparations, Botha noted that hormone treatments make her tire quickly, affecting her finishing time.
However, he remains positive that this will improve over time.
Mboma’s compatriot Beatrice Masilingi, who is undergoing the same hormone treatment, has also recently complained of fatigue.
In 2023, South Africa’s two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya told CNN that having to take testosterone-reducing medication to compete internationally was “hell”, and had a negative impact on her health.
In her new book, “The Race to Be Myself,’ Semenya describes the damaging impact the medication had on her body.
“You are not happy within; you are never happy. It makes you feel sick and nauseous. You have panic attacks. It starts creating a little bit of blood clots in your system.
Your stomach is burning. You eat a lot. You can’t sleep. You sweat a lot each day. It’s like digging a hole that you can never fill up. You know, it’s like you measure a casket and you get in and then you bury yourself. It was not easy. It was a hard time,” Semenya wrote.
Mboma, who is training at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek before she leaves for Europe soon to set up camp there, expressed her determination to return to peak form.
Reflecting on her last race when she pulled a hamstring, the soft-spoken the athlete admitted that she still has flashbacks from the painful experience.
“I try to forget it and to focus on training. I thank everyone who supports me on and off the pitch. I will go out and make you all proud,” she promised.
- lmupetami@nepc.com.na