A very disappointed Samaria said she should have prepared differently after she competed in her last Olympics.

"For the first time in my life, I have realised that is not how one should prepare for a (Olympic) medal."

Although she could not say how exactly one should prepare, Samaria said one thing she knows for sure is that an athlete needs all the support from everyone around him or her in order to excel.

Also, one's mind should be free of any worries that cause headaches, she said, referring to her visa hassles before leaving for Beijing.

Samaria added that if ever she has to prepare an athlete for future Olympics, she would not do it the way she had done.

"An athlete should not come with doubts of whether he or she can win or not."

She said Kenya, leading the medals tally for the continent in the Games, held camps for all its athletes to bond and draw up their plan for the Beijing Olympics.

However, such team-building exercises were non-existent for Team Namibia, she said.

On her poor performance in the 1 500m heats, Samaria said the whole run was 'hilarious', saying it was so slow, but she could not make it to the top three positions.

During the first two rounds, she was in a good position and there was no pushing, but she was not sure if she should sprint or not, and when she finally realised she should have gone already, it was too late.

"I tried and worked for it, but it seems it was just not my call," she said, adding that for 15 years, she gave her all for sports and is proud of her achievements.

Samaria said with athletics in Namibia being in shambles as it is, Namibians should not be disappointed that no medals were won, but be happy that they have athletes that can make the Olympics qualifying standards.

Nampa

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