Namibia’s Tokyo Olympics 200m silver medallist Christine Mboma is set to make her much-anticipated return to the track at this year’s edition of the annual Kip Keino Classic, which is slated for 13 May in Nairobi, Kenya.
Her trainer, Henk Botha, shared the news yesterday, saying the 19-year-old athlete has been working hard for the past weeks to ensure her body is in top shape ahead of this and other major competitions lined up for the year.
The Kip Keino Classic, which is one of World Athletics’ foremost continental tour events, has been a great fortress for Mboma, who scooped first place in the women’s 200m during the 2021 edition of the event when she finished ahead of Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast and Aminatou Seyni from Niger.
After battling an array of injuries during much of the opening half of last year, the Namibian still managed to beat the odds when she recovered on time to clinch a bronze medal in the 200m final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, with her time of 22.80 seconds.
Coach Botha is optimistic that the 2021 Diamond League winner will again be at her utmost best when she takes to the track in Nairobi on 13 May to challenge some of the world’s best athletes.
“We are happy to inform the public that Christine’s pre-season training has been going very well, and she is fit and nearly ready for her 2023 season. It will be a long season and, therefore, we want to ensure that we manage her body so that she can be at her best during the entire 2023 season. Currently, her first official race will be on 13 May at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, and we want her to do good at the race,” said Botha.
The veteran athletics coach also shared that after this meet, Mboma will turn her attention to the Diamond League race series, and then later to the all-important World Athletics Championships to be held in Hungary in August.
“Her season will mostly be packed with Diamond League events, based on the invites she received. Once her official schedule for this year is fully-confirmed, we will announce other races lined up for her as well.”
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Mboma became the first-ever Namibian woman to win an Olympic medal, and broke the world U/20 and African senior records when she scooped a silver medal in the 200m final with a time of 21.81 seconds.
She would go on to win 200m gold at the 2021 World U/20 Championships and at the Diamond League final, improving her record mark to 21.78 seconds in the process. That year, she also set a world U/20 and African senior record of 48.54 seconds in the 400m, which made her the seventh-fastest woman of all time in the event.
- ohembapu@nepc.com.na