Namibia must avoid embarrassment at 2028 Olympic Games – coach

Namibia must begin identifying potential talent now to ensure a strong showing at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the United States (US).

Local veteran athletic coach Letu Hamhola said in a recent interview with Desert FM that Namibia must pull up its socks, otherwise, the 2028 Olympic Games are going to be worse than the 2024 Paris Olympic Games experience.

“Looking at the current pace, athletics is the only code that has existed since 1992. It has been the only medal code for Namibia at that level.”

“Looking at the drop-off from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, only Helalia Johannes, our great Olympian, is performing and is the only one competing at that level.

“At the moment, after Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi, we have not seen people reaching that level, which means that we need to, like Botswana and South Africa, invest in our athletes and give them exposure,” said Hamhola.

“You cannot take on the world from Okahao or from Warmbad. We need to expose them so they can face and run against world champions, day in and day out,” stressed the coach.

He said it is concerning that we only have two Olympians. “Nothing happens by accident, even with the two representatives we had at the recent World Athletics Championships,” he added.

Namibia was represented by Alina Armas and Daniel Paulus in the marathon, in which Armas placed 34th in 2:36.33 seconds, while Paulus did not complete the race.

“Conditions in Tokyo were difficult, and when looking at the men’s race, there was a record number of dropouts in that race. It also teaches us that if you go to those types of conditions, we must put in a bit more preparation, conditioning and acclimatisation for athletes so they can do their best,” he said.

Hamhola said the men’s marathon saw Tanzanian Alphonce Simbu become the first gold medalist in a time of 2.09.48 seconds. “That was an exciting race.”

“If you run a marathon, there are a lot of investments in terms of your preparations, nutrition and medical support that you will get. The question remains, how much have we done to help Alina and Daniel succeed? ” asked Hamhola.

He said potential and talent exist, having seen Lionel Coetzee jump 8.27m.

“If you look at the Diamond League in previous years, you will see Agnes Samaria and Frank Fredericks competing at that level. At the moment, after Mboma and Masilingi, we have not seen individuals reach that level,” he said.

Last year, at the 2024 World Junior Athletics Championship, Namibia had one representative, Magano Naseb. “The future in terms of athletics lacks a lot because we are waiting for a miracle to happen.”

“It’s important that Namibian coaches come together to start on the road to 2032 and identify talent, invest in them and expose them,” he said.

“Fredericks went from here to the US, preparing and competing at the highest level. Christine won her medal, and she was also competing regularly in Europe. At the moment, which of our athletes is competing in Europe right now? We have to pull up our socks,” Hamhola added.

Local athletic coach Letu Hamhola calls for robust action to avoid embarrassment at the 2028 Olympic Games. Photo: Contributed  

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