Namibian athletes take on Africa’s best 

Athletics Namibia this week announced that 14 athletes will represent the nation at the CAA African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana from 12 to 17 May. 

At the previous African Championships in Douala, Cameroon two years ago Namibia won two medals through long jumper Lionel Coetzee and discus thrower Ryan Williams, and now they are once again Namibia’s best, and only realistic hopes for medals. 

Both athletes have been in fine form lately, making their mark at international events on the African continent. 

Coetzee, who turned 29 yesterday, has displayed great form and consistency while he is getting within range of his national record of 8.27m. At the Khomas Championships in Windhoek in February he won gold with a leap of 7.71m and then on 18 April won the Addis Ababa Grand Prix in Ethiopia with a leap of 7.89m. A week later he competed at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix in Gaborone where he won the silver medal with 7,84m, while South Africa’s Luvo Manyonga won gold with a distance of 7,96m.

Those performances have put him amongst the best on the African continent this year as he currently ranks fourth behind Tafadzwa Chikomba of Zimbabwe, and South Africa’s Manyonga and Temoso Masikane.

Williams is also highly ranked in Africa this year after a fine season that saw him winning the gold medal at the South African National Championships.

He won that event with a throw of 55.62m on 18 April and then a week later won gold at the Namibian National Championships with a throw of 56,43m. 

His best throw of the season came on 17 March when he won an event in Potchefstroom with a throw of 58.75m, which was the third best in Africa so far this year, with only Aron Aranda and Daniel Strooh of SA having thrown further with respective distances of 60.51m and 59.17m.

Frieda Iithete has been in fine form in the triple jump and long jump, setting national records in both events with respective distances of 12.78m and 6.18m, but she is still quite a way off the top African jumpers this season. 

In the triple jump Liliane Potiron of Mauritius leads the way with 13.97, while Prestina Ochonogor of Nigeria leads the way in long jump with 6.69m.

In the men’s sprints, Magano Naseb will compete in the 100m and Charley Matundu and Elton Hoeseb in the 100m and 200m. Matundu has set the fastest Namibian times for both events this season with 10.07 and 20.57 respectively, but they are well off the leading African times of 9.89 in the 100m by Busang Kebinatshipi of Botswana, and 19.77 in the 200m by Sinesipho Damkbile of SA.

In the 400m, Elvis Gaseb with a season’s best of 46.20 and Ivan-Danny Geldenhuys (46.88) will represent Namibia, but they are well behind the Samuel Ogazi of Nigeria’s leading African time of 44.02. 

In the 400m hurdles, Andre Retief, has a season’s best time of 50.88, while Matodzi Ndo of SA leads the way with 48.64, while Dawid Afrikaner will compete in the men’s triple jump. His season’s best is 16.02, while Yasser Tricki of Algeria leads the way with 17.35m.

In the women’s sprints, Namibia will be represented by Jade Nangula, who has season’s best times of 11.82 and 24.32 seconds in the 100m and 200m respectively; as well as Ndawana Haitembu, who has season best times of 11.89 and 24.13. 

Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma leads the way in both sprints this season with respective times of 10.95 and 22.42.

Tuuliki Angala will compete in the 400m and the 800m where her season’s best times of 55.64 and 2:08.48 respectively are well behind that of Nigeria’s Ella Onojuwevwo (49.59) and 1:58.42 of Oratile Nowe of Botswana.

Talaya Vorster, the daughter of former Namibian Olympian cyclist Michelle Vorster, will compete in the women’s pole vault  where she has a season’s best of 3.45m, while SA’s Ansume de Beer leads the way with 4.20m.

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