One of the Namibian darlings of track and field, Beatrice Masilingi, stopped taking testosterone-reducing drugs imposed by World Athletics (WA) around October last year.
The testosterone-reducing drugs were imposed by WA on both Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma in 2021, following the introduction of regulations governing athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD), which affected their eligibility to compete in certain women’s track events.
Health toll
Masilingi, who shared this news exclusively with New Era, told a heartfelt story of how the drugs are having side effects on her body and how she just couldn’t take that anymore.
“I stopped taking the drugs in October last year. One of the side effects is that it decreases my bone density. I couldn’t lean on anything without my bones hurting. I just couldn’t continue doing that to myself anymore,” she said.
Financial strain
Masilingi added that she is also suffering financially because the MTC contract ended.
In July 2021, MTC announced a substantial three-year sponsorship deal with Masilingi and Mboma. The total value was N$4 million, with N$2 million allocated to each athlete.
The sponsorship package, which was the largest ever for individual athletes in Namibia, included various benefits:
Each athlete was to receive N$100 000 annually for personal expenses and N$250 000 annually for event preparation over the three-year period.
“It’s business. If I don’t run, I don’t earn any money. I also used to get a sponsorship in terms of preparation and training money from the Namibia National Olympic Committee, but that also ended. I think I will continue to train; I haven’t decided yet, but I won’t take the drugs, and I will wait for the International Olympic Committee, as I hear that there will be a new policy or something of the sort being announced in a couple of months.
“Also, right now I will just focus on entrepreneurship and push for my Yango business: Ronda Rideshare, which will be up and running soon. It’s a sad reality, but it’s how it is,” she added.
Her coach, Henk Botha, added that the athletes went through a difficult time.
“It’s a whole life-changing thing that came upon them. Just imagine and put yourself in the shoes of somebody who came with zero income and suddenly had a lot of money. Unfortunately, I tried not to get involved with any of their money, management, or anything else, because it’s such a sensitive issue and there were a lot of allegations made with different people about misusing their money, which I don’t believe was the case. They had full decisions and access to their own money.
“I said to them, ‘If they need any support or help, I am willing to give them advice, and only if they need it,’ and unfortunately, they didn’t come to me.
“They did a lot of things which is difficult. This part also changed their lives in such a way that they had different diets and dietary issues, and they also have not attended training because they were so occupied with a lot of off-track involvement with sponsors. So that made it very difficult from a coach’s perspective to coach somebody because they were so occupied with a lot of things off the track. I don’t think they have trained enough. I am waiting for both to find out whether they want to take on the year for training. We are starting officially today (Monday), so I will speak to both and find out what their plans are,” he added.
“So, for now, I cannot give you any answers as far as the future. There are no more endorsements. All endorsements are done. Obviously, that’s the way it works. They have a certain period connected to them, and nobody will renew it unless you are still on track and still running. This is where we are at. “This is a difficult thing for me, but I am not giving up. It’s my girls. It’s my children. I am standing with them. I am trying to open support as far as I can. So, the financial resources are running dry, and we will take it step by step and see what we can do,” added Botha.
Mboma couldn’t be reached for comment before going to print.
-lmupetami@nepc.com.na
