HISTORY will remember Luketz Swartbooi as the first Namibian runner who came very close to winning the marathon at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
The Rehoboth-born athlete, who was a paramount figure in the long-distance race, was a whisker away from a historic gold medal for Namibia before South Africa-born United States runner Mark Plaatjies pipped him at the end to claim the top honours.
Swartbooi says, “I must admit that I robbed myself of the gold medal that day because of my inexperience. I was taking water at the water points but instead of taking a sip I was only pouring the water on my head and body.
“I was ignorant of the fact that I could dehydrate, which eventually happened. Afterwards, I was struggling to continue running with the finishing line within sight. It was so sad because I was only a few metres away from claiming my dream win.”
The former Rehoboth High School pupil, who started his running career at the same school, dominated the local marathon scene nevertheless, and, in 1992, he won the Rössing Marathon in a time of 2:11:23, a record that still stands.
The former Windhoek Harriers Athletics Club star is still the Namibian marathon record holder, with an impressive time of 2:09:08, while he also holds the half marathon record at 1:01:26. The country’s most decorated long distance runner is also the holder of the 10km record at 47:47.
Swartbooi, who entered the national long-distance scene with the now defunct Katutura-based Sunshine Athletics Club, finished his debut race in third place in a time of 2:32, followed by his personal best at the Boston Marathon in 1994 in 2:09:08 to take bronze.
He also qualified for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, together with Frank Kayele, but he did not finish the race due to burnout.
However, his career started to blossom with consistent international participation, starting with an invitation to the California Marathon in December 1992 where he finished third in a time of 2:14 while he also claimed another third place at the Boston Marathon in April 1993.
Luketz, who is a self-confessed diehard Black Africa fan, also ran a couple of times at the 56-kilometre Two Oceans Marathon, with his best race at the Cape Town event being the second place he clinched at the three hour-plus event in a time of 3:09 in 2002.
He tasted his first victory on foreign soil at the Algerian Marathon, which was run over three days in the dunes, by winning all three races.
“I had an experience of a lifetime when Elizabeth Mongudhi-Leino, Ruben Indongo and I were invited to a training camp in France where we were mentored by a French coach.
“We attended another training camp in Kenya where we trained with some of the best marathon runners in the world,” he notes.
He says his fitness was his strong point and he wants people to remember him as the super fit runner who could outpace his opponents, and boasts that not many local runners could keep up with him in his heyday.
Luketz, who has been employed as a driver/storeroom assistant since 2010 at the Rehoboth Town Council, says a normal day for him starts at 05h00. However, he no longer exercises in the morning because of a career-ending ankle injury he sustained in 2009.
“I can only thank the management of the town council for giving me the job that is enabling me to put bread on the table for my family after I stopped running because of the leg injury. I started off as a driver but I am also working in the storeroom now.
“My responsibility in the storeroom is to book material and equipment like water taps, water meters and water pipes in and out of the storeroom. This became my daily routine and I am enjoying myself because this is my life in a nutshell,” he says.
He married his childhood sweetheart Salonika, the mother of his four children (two boys and two girls) in 1994, and has four grandchildren. His eldest child is 31 years old, while his last-born is 16 years old.
The Rehoboth Town Council honoured the retired runner by naming a street after him on Saturday. He also received a plot during the inaugural ceremony, which saw his son Tevin Swartbooi take part in his first marathon, finishing in third place.
The former sportsman of the year nominee could not contain his excitement at having a street named after him.
“Now, this is something I never expected. I am so proud to be a resident of this beautiful town of Rehoboth. I thank the people who took the initiative and made this dream a reality. I hope this is a good example to the young people of this town of what they can achieve through sport,” he said.
Luketz joins a galaxy of former sport stars who have been honoured by their town councils like Frank Fredericks and Berlin ‘Pancho’ Augumeb, Mohammed ‘Slice’ Ouseb and Gerros ‘The Bomber’ Uri-khob, who all have streets or parks named after them.
Swartbooi looks forward to a future as an athletics coach.
“My dream is to own a coaching academy after retirement. I have very valuable experience I have picked up through my active days as a runner and I am very knowledgeable in long distance running. I need to share that knowledge,” he notes.
Luketz says he is missing the good old days when he used to compete against the likes of Aaron Shipanga, Joseph Tjitunga, the late Lucas Halweendo and the Kayele brothers, Frank and Thomas, whom he described as fearless and determined runners.
He says he misses the way they competed, as runners in his day were such excellent competitors and were always out to challenge each other.
The record-breaking runner is very happy with the way he has lived his life and all the achievements he has made in life.
“I have gone to places many athletes or even young people can only dream about. I am a proud silver medal holder from the World Championships and the records I have set are still standing today. I married my childhood lover and we have four beautiful children. I even have a street named after me. Is that not enough to be proud of?” He asks, thanking God for what he has achieved.
He advises young runners to practise self-discipline and to be dedicated to their sport.
