Tujoromajo Kasuto
Namibia’s sprint sensation, Christine Mboma, has won the first ever Olympic medal for a Namibian woman and the first Olympic medal for Namibia since 1996.
She achieved this with a time of 21.81 seconds, breaking the world under-20 record (a feat she achieved two other times at the Olympics) and earning a silver medal in the women’s 200m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Mboma came after Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah who pulled off the sprints double-double by winning the women’s 200 metres in 21.53 while the USA’s Gabby Thomas got bronze in 21.87, Whilst Namibia’s Beatrice Masilingi took 6th place with 22.28 seconds, beating her personal best of 22.50 seconds .
Mboma now holds the record for Olympic Silver medalist in 200m, a new personal best for 200m, new national record for women’s 200m, new African Record for women’s 200m, new World Record for U20 women’s 200m. The Silver medalist says the whole experience is a dream come true. “It feels great, I am really happy. This is a dream, I just came here for experience. I didn’t expect the medal, just focused on the 200 metres. I believe I could do better. I will just see what will happen in the future. Namibia will be so happy and so proud of me to take the medal back to the Land of the Brave.”
“Wow, Silver for Christine Mboma! I wish to congratulate Christine for her brilliant achievement during the 200m Finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. As a country, we are extremely proud. An outstanding ambassador of our country, you have flown the Namibian flag very high,” President Hage G. Geingob, says in his congratulatory message.
The President also commended Masilingi saying, “you have done us proud. You put up a brave performance in the 200m Finals at the Olympics. Even if you didn’t walk away with a medal, the future is bright for you and we are proud of you,” and thanked the Olympic athletes Coach, Henk Botha for nurturing their exceptional talents.
The First Lady, Monica Geingos also praised the young Olympians. “We believe her! Christine’s silver medal at the #Tokyo2020Olympics feels like gold to us! Mboma and Masilingi raced against misogynoir, and won. Thank you Christine, Beatrice, Coach Henk for reminding us that greatness never shrinks. It grows, it gets better!”
Similarly, Presidential Advisor on Youth Matters and Enterprise Development, Daisry Mathias, also observes that this is a pivotal moment in history reaffirming the transformational power of sports. “From humble beginnings and with correct nurturing and support, young people can rise to highest heights. Thank you Christine Mboma, BeatriceMasilingi under tutelage of Coach Henk for raising the flag,” she adds.
The exceptional performance at the event comes after Mboma and Masilingi failed to meet the World Athletics eligibility regulations for female classification that apply to running events from 400m to 1600m and were withdrawn from the 400m event due to alleged high testosterone levels.
Frank Fredericks well-known as “Frankie” has been Namibia’s only 100 metres and 200 metres able-bodied Olympic track and field athlete medalist to date. He won his first two silver medals at the Barcelona Olympic Games in Spain in 1992 and second silver double at the Atlanta Olympic Games in the United States in 1996.
