Tjipee vies for a place

NAMIBIA’S 400m women’s record holder, Tjipekapora Herunga will make a last-ditch effort to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Zimbabwe national championships this weekend.

Herunga stands a good chance to make it with a personal best time of 52,46 seconds. The Olympic’s B qualifying standard is 52,35, but Herunga’s coach, Seun Karupa is positive that she (Herunga) can make it.Karupa told Nampa on enquiry on Wednesday that he knows for a fact that Herunga can qualify, saying she has worked very hard and that she has the potential.Herunga showed her mettle before in the 2007 All Africa Games in Algeria in July, when she broke the Namibian 400m record twice during the competition.She set a new Namibian record time of 52,46 seconds after improving it first from 53,30 to 53,24.During the Southern Region Track and Field Championships held in May 2007 in Windhoek, Herunga (19) broke the long-standing 53,83-second record of Agnes Samaria, to 53,32 and then bettered it again to 53,30.Another person that has a lot of confidence in Herunga is Namibia’s former Olympian Frank Fredericks, who sponsored her trip to Zimbabwe this weekend.Although she crashed out at the semi-finals of the 400m for women in the African Senior Track and Field Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May this year, with a time of 54,00 seconds, Herunga got her act together and will make the final attempt to qualify in Zimbabwe at the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)-recognised event.Herunga will also try and qualify for the 800m race, said Karupa.It will be her first international 800m race with a personal best of 2 minutes, four seconds, while the Olympics’ B qualifying standard is 2:01.30.Coach Karupa and another middle-distance athlete Martha Shivolo, who will try and qualify in the 800m and 1500m events, will accompany Herunga to Zimbabwe.Track and field athletes still have until 30 July to qualify.NampaThe Olympic’s B qualifying standard is 52,35, but Herunga’s coach, Seun Karupa is positive that she (Herunga) can make it.Karupa told Nampa on enquiry on Wednesday that he knows for a fact that Herunga can qualify, saying she has worked very hard and that she has the potential.Herunga showed her mettle before in the 2007 All Africa Games in Algeria in July, when she broke the Namibian 400m record twice during the competition.She set a new Namibian record time of 52,46 seconds after improving it first from 53,30 to 53,24.During the Southern Region Track and Field Championships held in May 2007 in Windhoek, Herunga (19) broke the long-standing 53,83-second record of Agnes Samaria, to 53,32 and then bettered it again to 53,30.Another person that has a lot of confidence in Herunga is Namibia’s former Olympian Frank Fredericks, who sponsored her trip to Zimbabwe this weekend.Although she crashed out at the semi-finals of the 400m for women in the African Senior Track and Field Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May this year, with a time of 54,00 seconds, Herunga got her act together and will make the final attempt to qualify in Zimbabwe at the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)-recognised event.Herunga will also try and qualify for the 800m race, said Karupa.It will be her first international 800m race with a personal best of 2 minutes, four seconds, while the Olympics’ B qualifying standard is 2:01.30.Coach Karupa and another middle-distance athlete Martha Shivolo, who will try and qualify in the 800m and 1500m events, will accompany Herunga to Zimbabwe.Track and field athletes still have until 30 July to qualify.Nampa