Diamond shines on track

THE blistering pace of Merlyn Diamond earned her possibly one of her biggest track and field victories in local athletics when she scooped triple gold in both the Frank Fredericks Invitational and the Grand Prix held at the Independence Stadium over the weekend.

Diamond first collected gold medals in both the 100 and 200 metres sprints for girls during the Invitational meet on Friday, before she took on her more senior counterparts the following day to take the podium in the Grand Prix.
The Golden Cheetah Athletics Club sprinter brilliantly improved on her time of 12,36 seconds in the 100-metres sprint on Friday in the Invitational to an impressive 12,12 seconds in the Grand Prix on Saturday.
In the Grand Prix, the stocky but solid runner had to shake off seasoned runners such as Tjipee Herunga (12,32sec), who came in second, and the experienced Victoria Tjingaete (12,38sec), who came third.
Herunga competes for Winners Athletics Club, while Tjingaete turns out for the Welwitschia 77 Athletics Club.
For the boys, Dantago Gurirab of Khomas took double gold in the 100m (10,79sec) and 200m (21,72sec) sprints, beating favourite Hardus Maritz (10,80sec) into second spot in the shorter distance.
MOSES IN TRIPLE GOLD
In another highlight during the Invitational, Klaudia Moses of the Oshikoto Region landed three gold medals for girls in the 800m (2:15:64), 1 500m (4:37.04) and 3 000m (9:56:99).
Also for sprints in the Grand Prix, Andre Nel from Windhoek Hochland Sport took gold in 10,86 seconds, ahead of James Menych-Artivar of Golden Cheetahs in second and Hardus Maritz in third.
For the Grand Prix, Reinhold Iita (14m:14.50s) and Frans Hosea (15:01.96), both of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF), took first and second place, while Johannes Naitembu of Rado 77 was third in the 5 000m event for men.
Helena Iipinge and Lusina Nghiwanapo were the only female competitors over the same distance, with Ipinge taking it in 17 minutes and 32 seconds.
In field items for the Grand Prix, Melissa Amamus of the Golden Cheetahs won the high jump by sailing over at a height of 1,70m, while Corlia Kruger was the champion in the long jump with a leap of 5,14m.
Foreign athletes included Kalid Noraseela Mohd from Mauritius who won the 400m hurdles for women, Adriaan van Wyk of South Africa who took the 800m for men, while Wouter le Roux picked up gold in the 400m hurdles for men in the Grand Prix.
The event was hosted by the Frank Fredericks Foundation and is ssppnsored by Coca Cola for over ten years now.
It attracts the best juniors in the country during the invitational, while the top elite athletes from around the world are also invited to take part in the Grand Prix.
corry@namibian.com.na