Swartbooi in a class of his own

Luketz Swartbooi showed his younger opponents a clean pair of heels to win the second leg of the Old Mutual Victory Races in Swakopmund on Saturday. The race also served as the National Half Marathon Championships and drew Namibia’s top marathon athletes. The 44-year-old Swartbooi was in a class of his own as he won the 21km event in a time of 1:03:54. Johannes Naitembu finished more than 400m behind in second place, while Erich Goeieman finished a further 200m behind in third place. Vilho Paulus finished fourth and Robert Kaxuxuena fifth.

It was a dominant performance by the veteran athlete who showed that he has few peers in Namibian road running circles and according to race organiser Quinton Steele Botes he was a class above the rest of the field.

“Luketz ran a great race and he once again underlined how important experience and exposure at elite level is. He competed against top opposition in South Africa earlier this year and has developed the right temperament to compete at the highest level,” he said.

“If any of our senior men want to compete seriously, they will have to reach the competition level of Luketz,” he added.

Helalia Johannes was a comfortable winner of the women’s 21km race, finishing the event in 1:14:38. She finished about 200m ahead of Beata Naigambo, while last year’s overall winner of the Victory Races, Helena Iipinge came third. Anna Amutoko came fourth and Rachel Akukothela fifth.

With the victory Johannes demonstrated that she is over the groin injury that put her out of competition for most of this year. Her winning time, however, was still well off her national record of 1:10:59 that she set at the South African Half Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth in 2008.

Botes said that Johannes had to be groomed carefully to avoid injuries or burnout.

“Helalia ran away from our best half marathon runners and once again underlined her class, but she must be groomed carefully and looked after well. Our top athletes are running too much, but their coaches must choose their races more carefully and not just compete for money,” he said.

The male and female winners each received N$1 000, while the second placed athletes received N$500 and the third placed athletes N$300. The fourth placed athletes received N$200 and the fifth placed athletes N$100 each.

The top five athletes in the 5km race also received prize money ranging from N$200 down to N$50.

Cristmas Shikongo won the junior men’s 21km half marathon, followed by Andreas Timoteus and Tobias Hafeni, while Ester Lazarus won the junior women’s 21km event, followed by Teopolina Mwatotele and Claudia Inanga.

The results are attached.