ATHLETICS Namibia has officially announced the names of the country’s two representatives to the IAAF World Championships to be held in Daegu, South Korea, from August 27 to September 3.
Athletes Tjipekapora Herunga and Daniel Nghipandulwa are the nation’s wild-card selections for the world event.Running sensation Herunga will be taking part in the 400m for women. Earlier this year she beat South African 800m specialist Caster Semenya to set a new Namibian record of 52.32sec in the 400m event.Middle-distance ace Nghipandulwa will take part in the 800m for men. He set the new Namibian 800m record for men at 1:46.62 in May and has kept his form ever since through recent international competitions in Germany.The president of Athletics Namibia, Frank Fredericks, said: ‘This year’s selection of athletes to the World Championships was indeed a very daunting task for our team as there are a number of athletes that have set very good benchmarks in various competitions this year.’He went on to add that: ‘It is a pity that we only have a quota of one male and one female athlete to send to the World Championships as there are a number of equally deserving athletes that could represent Namibia at this world stage. However, Tjipekapora and Daniel have what it takes to keep the Namibian flag flying high.’The team will be led by team manager and coach Icha Anderson Hukununa.The heats for the 400m for women will take place on 27 August at 20:05 (12:05 Namibian time). The 800m heats for men will take place on 27 August at 12:05 (16:05 Namibian Time). – www.namibiasport.com.na
