Athletics

Kristof Shaanika and Lavinia Haitope eached received N$15 000 as the overall winners of the Old Mutual Victory Races series at a press conference in Windhoek on Tuesday.

Shaanika won the Senior Men’s category with an average time of 1:05:37 for two of the three legs of the series.

Simon Shipingana, who came second with an average time of 1:05:48 received N$10 000 and Uveni Kuugongelwa who came third with an average time of 1:06:01 received N$5 000.

Pineas Embashu and Ndeshimona Ekandjo were the winners of the inaugural Telecom City of Windhoek Marathon which took place in Windhoek on Sunday morning.

The 33-year-old Embashu, who runs for the Namibia Defence Force, won the senior men’s category of the 42km event in a time of 2 hours 34 minutes, to finish well ahead of team mate Vetisee Mbunguha who came second in 3:02.

Embashu took the lead from the start and never looked back, extending his lead as the race said it was a tough course.

Namibia Breweries, through its brand Windhoek Lager, on Thursday announced its sponsorship of the Windhoek Lager Fish River Marathon which they will sponsor for the third year on Saturday.

“Namibia Breweries Limited has been part of the Windhoek Lager Fish River Marathon for the past two years and is delighted with the growth of this event in such a short time,” Daniel Keulder, Sponsorship Event Manager at NBL said.

Tjipekapora Herunga won the women’s 400m in a new meeting record time at the Welsh Athletics International meeting on Wednesday during a packed meeting in the city of Cardiff.

Despite the cold, rainy and windy conditions the star from the Omaheke region executed her race perfectly to win in 53,15 seconds.

Herunga ran a blistering 200m to take a clear lead and kept her composure against a strong headwind in the home straight to win the race.

Joyce Sakari of Kenya came second in 53,71 while Sparkle Mcknight of Trinidad & Tobago came third in 53.74.

Namibian sprinters Globine Mayova, Tjipekapora Herunga, Hitjivirue Kaanjuka and Frank Puriza competed in a rainy and cold Sparkassen Athletics meeting in Hannover on Saturday.

In the 100m for women Tjipe won Heat Two in 12,09 seconds with Mayova winning Heat Three in 12,07 seconds.

Mayova's run proved to be the winning time out of the three heats with Herunga second overall and Ruth Sophia Spelmeyer coming third in 12,11.

Beata Naigambo gave a fantastic performance to beat more than 25 000 athletes to win a 10km road race in London over the weekend.

The race served as a test event for the London Olympic Games, which will start in 15 days’ time and Naigambo’s victory was the latest in a string of excellent performances that she has achieved abroad so far this year.

In January she broke the Namibian marathon record when she came 14th in the Dubai International Marathon in a time of 2:29:20.

Two Namibian junior athletes, Charlene Engelbrecht and Fred-Charles Pieterse will represent Namibia at the World Junior Championships set to take place in Barcelona, Spain from Tuesday, July 10 to Sunday, July 15.

The duo’s participation at the competition will not only be one of pride, but it will mark a nostalgic journey through the heart of Barcelona, where Namibia gained its first Olympic medals through Namibian sprinting legend and Athletics Namibia President, Frank Fredericks.

Tjipekapora Herunga made a promising debut on the international athletics stage when she came fourth at the IAAF World Challenge 30th Meeting de Atletismo Madrid on Saturday evening.

During a packed windy meeting in Madrid the young athlete from Otjinene in the Omaheke Region took on an experienced field of athletes.

Running in Lane 3, Herunga had a slow start that saw her relegated to last position at the 200m mark. From here she however accelerated brilliantly to finish in fourth position with a time of 51,86 seconds.

Robert Kaxuxwena and Helalia Johannes were victorious at the second leg of the Old Mutual Victory Races Series in Swakopmund on Saturday.

The second leg took place in chilly weather in Swakopmund on Saturday morning and saw a large turnout of 540 athletes participating in the 21km and 5km events.

The Elite Men’s category was keenly contested before Kaxuxwena won the 21km Half Marathon in a time of 1:06:03. Simon Shipingana followed three seconds behind in second place, while Oscar Komeya came third a further two seconds behind.

Tjipekapora Herunga and Globine Mayova finished sixth and seventh respectively in the women’s 200m final at the African Athletics Championships in Porto Novo, Benin on Sunday.

Herunga finished sixth in a time of 23,92 while Mayova came seventh in 24,30.

The race was won by Gloria Asumnu of Nigeria in 22,93, while compatriot Lawretta Ozoh came second although she was awarded the same time.

Marie Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast won the bronze medal, in 23,44, with South Africa’s Tsholofelo Thipe just missing out on a medal after coming fourth in 23,66.