Herunga leads athletics legion

NAMIBIA’S 400-metre athlete Tjipekapora Herunga will be in action in the 400m first-round heats which start this morning when the athletics competition gets underway at the Olympic Stadium.

Should Herunga make it through, she will compete in the semifinals tomorrow evening.On Sunday, Helalia Johannes and Beata Naigambo will both be in action in the women’s marathon.Both athletes are in fine shape and looking forward to competition on Sunday.’We are in good health and excited to be here. We did our training and are ready for the race,’ Naigambo said.The marathon will start and finish at the Mall in the heart of London and will pass several famous landmarks along the way, including Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London.Trap shooter Gaby Ahrens will compete tomorrow morning in the qualifying round of the women’s trap competition at the Royal Artillery Barracks. If Ahrens finishes among the top eight she will qualify for the final, which will take place immediately after the qualification round tomorrow.Wrestler Sem Shilimela and mountain-bike rider Marc Bassingthwaighte will only be in action next weekend.Shilimela will compete in the men’s 55kg freestyle category at the ExCel centre next Friday morning, while Bassingthwaighte will compete in the men’s mountain-bike race on Hadleigh Farm on the last day of Olympics competition, Sunday, August 12.KASUTO OUTMujandjae Kasuto’s Olympic Games came to a halt when he lost a men’s boxing 75kg middleweight last 16 bout to Zoltan Harcsa of Hungary yesterday afternoon. Harcsa won the fight 16-7. ‘It was not what I expected. I connected a few times but the points were not coming and I was a bit disappointed in the scoring,’ he said.He acknowledged that he started the fight timidly.’I started the fight too slowly. In the second round I tried to catch him on the counterattack but he was a clever boxer and also caught me,’ he said.Kasuto’s Olympics are now over but he said it was a great experience and thanked all his Namibian fans for their messages of support.Naigambo and Johannes were also in the stands cheering for their compatriot. ‘I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to represent my country here in London. I wanted to go to the next round but it did not happen, but overall I’m happy with my achievements,’ he said.’I’m disappointed but it’s not the end of the world. I’m very happy for all the support that I received from my fans in Namibia,’ he said.Namibia’s Minister of Sport Kazenambo Kazenambo was also in the stands urging Kasuto on and afterwards said he did his best.’Kasuto gave a good fight and we are proud of him. I’m not too sure about the technical aspects of the scoring but he did well, although he maybe started a bit slowly,’ he said.