Athletics

Tjipekapora Herunga and Globine Mayova were in great form at the African Athletics Championships in Porto Novo, Benin on Saturday as both reached the final of the women’s 200m.

Herunga came third in the first heat of the semifinals in a time of 23,59, while Mayova came second in the second semifinal heat in 24,13.

Herunga’s time was the sixth fastest overall, while Mayova’s was the eighth fastest time which saw her grabbing the eighth and final spot.

All three of Namibia’s athletes who were in action on the second day of the African Athletics Championships failed to make the finals of their respective events.

After the shock disqualification of Tjipekapora Herunga in the women’s 400m on Wednesday, Globine Mayova, Hitjiverue Kaanjuka and Frank Puriza were all eliminated in the semifinals on Thursday.

Mayova narrowly missed out on a place in the final after coming third in her heat in a time of 11,91 seconds.

Disaster struck for Namibia at the African Athletics Championships in Porto Novo, Benin when Tjipekapora Herunga was disqualified from the 400m.

Herunga was disqualified from Heat 5 of the 400m first round heats after jumping out of her blocks before the starting gun went off.

Namibia’s other three athletes - Globine Mayova, Hitjiverue Kaanjuka and Frank Puriza - who competed on Wednesday however all qualified for the semifinals of their respective events.

The African Athletics Championships get underway in Porto Novo, Benin today with Namibia being represented by six athletes at the continental showpiece.

Sprinters Globine Mayova and Hitjiverue Kaanjuka; 400m athletes Tjipekapora Herunga and Frank Puriza; 800m athlete Daniel Nghipandulwa; and triple jumper Roger Haitengi will join Africa’s top athletes in search of medals at the biennial showpiece.

According to times achieved so far this year, Herunga will be Namibia’s best hope for a medal.

Namibia’s top athletes rounded off their preparations for the African Athletics Championships in style, when they took Ingolstadt by storm during an exciting International MTV meeting in the German region of Bavaria on Friday night.

All Africa Games double bronze medallist Tjipekapora Herunga was the first to step on the track and she did not disappoint. Herunga dominated the 400m race putting her competitors under pressure from the start and was already in the lead at 200m and kept her composure as she accelerated  to win in 53.25.

Uveni Kuukongelwa of Nampol Athletics Club won the first leg of the Old Mutual Victory Races in Keetmanshoop on Saturday.

Kuukongelwa covered the 21,1km course in a time of 1:08:13 to finish well ahead of Paulus Iyambo of the NDF who came second in 1:08:30 and another NDF athlete, Simon Shipingana who came third in 1:08:44.

It was the first time that the 29-year-old Kuukongelwa had won a major marathon in Namibia and he was understandably proud of his performance.

Namibian athletes Hitjivirue Kaanjuka and Frank Puriza both won their races in Turku, Finland on Wednesday evening at a packed Paavo Nurmi Stadium, named after the legendary Finnish runner who won nine gold and three silver medals at the Olympic Games from 1920 till 1928.

Kaanjuka went one better than he did on Sunday when he ended second in the 100m. This time the Namibian double sprinting champion won his heat earlier in the day in 10,56 and came back the evening to win the final, as he powered down the straight in a time of 10,44 followed by Eero Haapala in second place.

Globine Mayova continued her good form of late by winning the 200m at an international athletics meeting in Tampere, Finland on Sunday.

Despite the rainy conditions, Mayova ran the bend aggressively and powered down the home straight to win in a time of 24,14 seconds, with compatriot Tjipekapora Herunga coming fourth in 24,33.

Mayova expressed delight at her victory but said the conditions were not conducive to fast times.

Old Mutual on Monday announced a sponsorship of N$510 000 for the annual Old Mutual Victory Races Series.

This will be the 12th consecutive year that the series takes place while the total sponsorship over the years has amounted to more than N$3 million.

This year’s series will consist of four races throughout Namibia over the next two months.

The first race takes place in Keetmanshoop on Saturday, June 16, to be followed by Swakopmund on June 30, Oshakati on July 21 and Windhoek on August 4.

Namibia finished a disappointing sixth out of nine nations at the Confederation of African Athletics Southern Region Youth Championships in Harare on Sunday.

South Africa dominated the championships with a total of 41 medals, consisting of 19 gold, 16 silver and 6 bronze medals.

Botswana came second with 5 medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) while Zambia came third with 3 medals (2 gold, 1 bronze).