HELALIA Johannes on Sunday joined compatriot Jonas Jonas as a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games as Namibia completed their best-ever performance at the quadrennial event.
It was the first time that Namibia had won two gold medals at the Games, which saw them finishing 19th overall out of the 43 competing nations, while they were also the sixth best African nation.
Since Namibia started competing in the Commonwealth Games in 1994 they had just won three gold medals during the previous 20 years.
Legendary sprinter Frank Fredericks won gold in the 200m in 1994 and 2002, while boxer Jafet Uutoni won gold in the light flyweight category in 2006.
Johannes and Jonas have now joined these Namibian heroes, while Johannes made it a remarkable family affair as she joined her husband Uutoni as a Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Johannes timed her race to perfection to win the women’s marathon in a time of 2 hours 32 minutes 40 seconds. She finished 43 seconds ahead of Lisa Weightman of Australia (2:33:23), while another Australian, Jess Trengrove finished 1:29 behind to win the bronze medal in 2:34:09.
The three runners, along with Sheila Jerotich of Kenya broke away from the pack early on and Trengrove led the group at the halfway stage.
By the 30km mark Jerotich took the lead, but her challenge faded at the 36km mark as Johannes took the lead for the first time.
She gradually increased her lead to eventually win by a comfortable margin.
It was the 37-year-old Johannes’ first major success at a major international event after she came fifth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow four years ago.
Two other Namibian athletes completed the women’s marathon. Lavinia Haitope came seventh in 2:40:54, while Leena Ekandjo came 12th in 2:50:59.
The men’s marathon saw a dramatic finish as Scotland’s Callum Hawkins who led from the halfway mark, collapsed with 2km to go and couldn’t complete the race.
Australia’s Michael Shelley went on to win the gold medal for the second successive Games after he also won gold in Glasgow four years ago.
Shelley won in a time of 2:16:46, with Munyo Mutai of Uganda winning silver in 2:19:02 and Robbie Simpson of Scotland bronze in 2:19:36.
Namibia’s Paulus Iiyambo came sixth overall in 2:22:39, but Namibia’s two other entrants, Reonard Namupala and Uveni Kuugongelwa failed the complete the race.
Johannes’ performance followed hot on the heels of Jonas’ gold medal less than 24 hours earlier when he beat Thomas Blumenfeld of Canada in the 64kg light welterweight category final.
Jonas dominated the fight from the start with his speed and precision to win a unanimous points decision, 5-0.
Two of the judges scored it 30-24 in his favour while the others scored it 29-26, 30-23 and 30-25 in his favour.
It was the 24-year-old Jonas’ second medal at the Commonwealth Games after he won a silver medal in Glasgow four years ago.
In the men and women’s cycling road races on Saturday, Namibia failed to make an impression.
In the women’s road race, Namibia’s Vera Adrian finished 15th overall in a time of 3 hours 3 minutes 32 seconds, which was 1:14 behind the winner, Chloe Hosking of Australia.
Adrian’s team mate Michelle Vorster came 21st in the same time of 3:03:32.
In the Men’s Road Race, Tristan de Lange was Namibia’s best cyclist, finishing 36th overall in 3:59:35, which was 2 minutes 34 seconds behind the winner, Steele von Hoff of Australia (3:57:01). Jonathan Mould of Wales came second in the same time and South Africa’s Clint Hendricks third in the same time.
Namibia’s Dan Craven came 40th in 3:59:39 and Drikus Coetzee 44th in 4:05:45, while Martin Freyer failed to finish the race.
In the Men’s Triple Jump final on Saturday, Namibia’s Roger Haitengi finished eighth overall with a distance of 16,24m, which was 64cm behind the winner, Troy Doris of Guyana, who won gold with a jump of 16,88m.
