RABAT – Namibia had a largely forgetful Wednesday at the African Games in Morocco.
The bright bronze glimmer from Vera Adrian’s second medal at the Games in the morning dissipated after the country’s other representatives, including Commonwealth star Jonas Junias Jonas, who also had to settle for a bronze, ended the day downcast.
The 4x100m women’s team missed out on a medal after finishing fourth in the finals. That team included 16-year-old sprint prospect Beatrice Masilingi, whose championship was cut short after picking up a hamstring injury in that race.
Consequently, she had to pull out of yesterday’s 200m heats. Masilingi’s young body succumbed to an overloaded schedule, having run the 400m heats and semis as well as 4×100 heats on Tuesday before the finals in those disciplines on Wednesday.
Tjipekapora Herunga, Jolene Jacobs and Globine Mayova completed the 4x100m team, which reached the finals after running 45,61 seconds for second place in the heats.
The team, however, put up an improved performance in the final with a season’s best 45,55.
Nigeria were crowned African champions in that event, outclassing their competitors with a time of 44,16. South Africa took the silver with 44,61 seconds, while Kenya were third in a time of 45,44 seconds.
Earlier in the evening session, the overworked Masilingi finished the 400 final in seventh position. Despite putting up an impressive performance in the finals, the more experienced and seasoned athletes proved a step too far for the Namibian teenager.
Masilingi, who made her first appearance in the finals at a senior championship, ran a time of 52,56 seconds, just off her personal best 52,39 set in the semis on Tuesday.
Galefele Mokoro of Botswana won the final (51,30), while Chikwuka Ofili of Nigeria came second (51,68) and Grace Obour of Ghana was third (51,86).
In the boxing events, Namibia’s hopes of winning a gold medal at the African Games vanished as Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jonas missed out on a spot in the finals.
Jonas lost his 63 kilogramme lightweight semi-final fight 3-2 against home favourite Abdelhaq Nadir at the Al Amal Indoor Sports Centre in Rabat. The defeat automatically relegated Jonas to a bronze medal.
– Adapted from Nampa
