Namibian sprint jewel hot in the US

NAMIBIAN sprinter Tangeni ‘Dasheek’ Akwenye has not proven himself on the Namibian athletics front, but he is fast moving up the ladder as one of the finest sprinters at Utah State University (USU) in the United States.

The former footballer, who never considered athletics as his number one sport until his final year at Centaurus High School, recently set a lifetime best of 46,68 seconds in the 400-metre discipline at the Brigham Young University Clarence Robinson Invitational in Utah. The Brigham Young University record is 45,75 seconds set by Clayton Patch in 1999.Besides that, the Namibian who went to the United States for studies four years ago has also competed excellently in the 400-metre races both at university level, conference level and at the nationals in that country.In most of those races, his time was ranging between 48 and 49 seconds in the 400-metre event, but it has improved drastically of late.The 26-year-old earlier this month competed at the Stanford Invitational where he recorded a time of 47,69 seconds, but before that at the Boise State Invitational in February this year, Akwenye posted 48,20 seconds in the race, which tied him for the seventh best time in the USU history.At the same race, he was also part of the team’s 4×400 metre relay team, which recorded the second fastest time in the USU history of 3 minutes 14.32 seconds.Those performances placed Akwenye’s name in the history books in one of the biggest institutions that produces top-quality athletes.Akwenye graduated last year in May, majoring in speech communication at USU.He got married to Jocelyn Merklyn from the US on March 10 this year and still pursues his studies, while setting the track ablaze with his performances at USU.Akwenye, whose older brother, Tobias Akwenye, also studies and lives in the US, also did national duty for Namibia, but the younger Akwenye never thought of taking up the sport seriously until he was offered a two-year scholarship by Utah State.Akwenye told The Namibian Sport that he was having a fantastic time at USU and was confident that he would make it into the Namibian team that is due to compete at the All-Africa Games in Nigeria in July.”I want to go out there and represent my country.I am in good shape and I am still running good times this side.I just want to make it into the team, because I owe it to my country.I need to compete on the African level to see how I fare against my fellow African counterparts,” he said.He said he also aims to go to the Olympic Games in Beijing next year.”My ultimate for now will be the Olympic Games next year, but at this stage, I am focusing on doing well at the All-Africa Games,” he said.Akwenye has three other brothers – Haifo, the eldest brother and former footballer, Harold and Nelson – and one sister, Marianna.Harold played football for Namibian premiership champions Civics, while Nelson currently does duty for Tigers, but he too had a short spell at Civics.Tobias was an accomplished 200- and 400-metre runner for Namibia and is also studying in the US.Their sister is married and lives in South Africa.Akwenye said everybody at Utah is great and he has made a lot of friends during his stay there.He said he has learnt to stay focused and disciplined in his career and wants to make something of it.”I will run until my legs cannot go as fast as I want anymore.I am determined to still do well in several major competitions that are coming my way this year.I will do my best in all of them,” he said.Another Namibian, Frank Puriza, studies and trains with Akwenye in the US and also specialises in the 200- and 400-metre events.Puriza has been there for a year and is following in the footsteps of Akwenye, who has picked up valuable experience under the guidance of the Utah State assistant coach, Corey Murdock.Murdock said on the USU website: “I can see Dasheek getting stronger and improving.He has shown a tremendous amount of drive and sheer will.He is a good athlete and he really wants to do well.”Murdock added that everybody loves the soft-spoken Akwenye, whom he described as humble.”It’s just a matter of time until Akwenye performs to his greatest ability,” said Murdock.Asked about his new nickname, Akwenye said: “Dasheek is my track name, but all my friends call me that because it is easy to pronounce.”Akwenye said to keep focused and keep on track was the best possible way to achieve results, but it should be done one day at a time.The Brigham Young University record is 45,75 seconds set by Clayton Patch in 1999.Besides that, the Namibian who went to the United States for studies four years ago has also competed excellently in the 400-metre races both at university level, conference level and at the nationals in that country.In most of those races, his time was ranging between 48 and 49 seconds in the 400-metre event, but it has improved drastically of late.The 26-year-old earlier this month competed at the Stanford Invitational where he recorded a time of 47,69 seconds, but before that at the Boise State Invitational in February this year, Akwenye posted 48,20 seconds in the race, which tied him for the seventh best time in the USU history.At the same race, he was also part of the team’s 4×400 metre relay team, which recorded the second fastest time in the USU history of 3 minutes 14.32 seconds.Those performances placed Akwenye’s name in the history books in one of the biggest institutions that produces top-quality athletes.Akwenye graduated last year in May, majoring in speech communication at USU.He got married to Jocelyn Merklyn from the US on March 10 this year and still pursues his studies, while setting the track ablaze with his performances at USU.Akwenye, whose older brother, Tobias Akwenye, also studies and lives in the US, also did national duty for Namibia, but the younger Akwenye never thought of taking up the sport seriously until he was offered a two-year scholarship by Utah State.Akwenye told The Namibian Sport that he was having a fantastic time at USU and was confident that he would make it into the Namibian team that is due to compete at the All-Africa Games in Nigeria in July.”I want to go out there and represent my country.I am in good shape and I am still running good times this side.I just want to make it into the team, because I owe it to my country.I need to compete on the African level to see how I fare against my fellow African counterparts,” he said.He said he also aims to go to the Olympic Games in Beijing next year.”My ultimate for now will be the Olympic Games next year, but at this stage, I am focusing on doing well at the All-Africa Games,” he said.Akwenye has three other brothers – Haifo, the eldest brother and former footballer, Harold and Nelson – and one sister, Marianna.Harold played football for Namibian premiership champions Civics, while Nelson currently does duty for Tigers, but he too had a short spell at Civics.Tobias was an accomplished 200- and 400-metre runner for Namibia and is also studying in the US.Their sister is married and lives in South Africa.Akwenye said everybody at Utah is great and he has made a lot of friends during his stay there.He said he has learnt to stay focused and disciplined in his career and wants to make something of it.”I will run until my legs cannot go as fast as I want anymore.I am determined to still do well in several major competitions that are coming my way this year.I will do my best in all of them,” he said.Another Namibian, Frank Puriza, studies and trains with Akwenye in the US and also specialises in the 200- and 400-metre events.Puriza has been there for a year and is following in the footsteps of Akwenye, who has picked up valuable experience under the guidance of the Utah State assistant coach, Corey Murdock.Murdock said on the USU website: “I can see Dasheek getting stronger and improving.He has shown a tremendous amount of drive and sheer will.He is a good athlete and he really wants to do well.”Murdock added that everybody loves the soft-spoken Akwenye, whom he described as humble.”It’s just a matter of time until Akwenye performs to his greatest ability,” sa
id Murdock.Asked about his new nickname, Akwenye said: “Dasheek is my track name, but all my friends call me that because it is easy to pronounce.”Akwenye said to keep focused and keep on track was the best possible way to achieve results, but it should be done one day at a time.