Tjipekapora Herunga got off to a great start in the South African Yellow Pages Athletics Series when she won the women’s 400m in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.
Herunga came first in a time of 54,49 seconds, followed by Alet van Wyk of Tuks (55,62) and Eugenie Wicksell of Tuks (55,63).
It was not a very fast time and was well off her personal best and Namibian record time of 52,38 which she set at the 2007 All Africa Games in Algeria.
“The conditions were a bit chilly and it was not a very good run. It was her first race of the season and the competition was not so strong,” said the Namibian team manager and former middle distance star Agnes Samaria.
She however added that Herunga’s time should improve when she comes up against South Africa’s top 400m athletes, Tsholofelo Thipe and Estie Wittstock later in the series.
Thipe, who set a personal best time of 51,15 at the 2009 South African Championships and Kotze with a PB of 52,30 last year have both set faster times than Herunga.
Namibian sprinter Hitjiverua Kaanjuka came fifth in the men’s 100m final in a slow time of 10,86 seconds. The race was won by Leigh Julius in 10,61 seconds, followed by Thuso Mpuang (10,66) and Roscoe Engel (10,77).
Kaanjuka’s time was well below his personal best time of 10,30 seconds, but the chilly conditions and a strong headwind hampered the athletes’ performances.
Namibia’s third and final athlete at the event, the 21-year-old middle distance runner Daniel Nghipandulwa came seventh in the men’s one mile event.
The race was won by Windy Jonas in 4:02,88, with Pharson Magagane coming second in 4:04,65 and Dean Brummer third in 4:07,50. Nghipandulwa finished well down the field in a time of 4:19,36.
It was the first time that he had attempted the mile and according to Samaria he gave a good account of himself.
“The race took place at quite a fast pace. Daniel was well positioned but on the final lap the leaders stretched out and he finished down the field. It was a good performance bearing in mind that it was the first time that he had competed in the mile event,” she said.
The three Namibian athletes will participate in the rest of the Yellow Pages Series which consists of seven events throughout South Africa. The next event takes place at the Kings Park Athletics Stadium in Durban on Friday, February 26. Their trip has been made possible by through financial assistance from the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture.