The darling of Namibia
When the president of Namibia asked locals to social distance in the name of Covid-19, Christine Mboma heeded the call and ran with it, as if the wind was pushing her.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
WINDHOEK
Namibia’s sensational 18-year-old sprinter, Christine Mboma, put some serious distance between herself and the other competitors at the Irena Szewinska Memorial event in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz on Wednesday night.
She ran most of the 400-metre race a startling 25 metres ahead of the competition to claim gold.
The young sprinter couldn’t believe that she ran so fast. In March this year she set a personal best of 50.97 seconds. She trimmed that down to 49.24 on 11 April, and then went ahead to break the under-20 world record set in 1991 by Germany’s Gritt Breuer.
Then, within a week, she lowered that time to 49.22. As it stands, her only competition is Bahamian athlete Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who has a personal best of 49.08, which she set in April.
Africa’s darling
With Wednesday night’s performance, Mboma set a new African record, a Namibian record, a personal best, the seventh fastest time in history as well as a new under-20 world record.
In second place was Justyna Swiety-Ersetic of Poland in a time of 51.91 seconds, and in third Portugal’s Catia Azevedo in a time of 52.03 seconds.
World shocker
At one point in the race, a shocked television commentator could be heard saying: “You just don’t do this; you are not supposed to do this to world-class athletes.”
Not concerned at all, Mboma ran her phenomenal race and asked the Namibian nation to keep supporting her.
“I enjoyed the race. I didn’t expect to run like that; it was too much for me,” the shy athlete said.
I fear no one
This was just one of Mboma’s phenomenal races as she gets closer and closer to the Tokyo Olympic Games, at which she is most likely to face the likes of 32-year-old Jamaican athlete Stephanie McPherson, America’s Allison Felix and the Netherlands’ Dafne Schippers.
Another rival, Bahraini 400-metre world champion Salwa Eid Naser, will miss the Games after the Court of Arbitration for Sport found her guilty of breaking an anti-doping rule.
So, at this moment, the first spot is anyone’s game.
Namibian Sun has been trying unsuccessfully to get comment from Frank Fredericks on the exploits of Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi. So far, Fredericks is Namibia’s only able-bodied Olympic medallist, having won four silver medals at the Games - two in 1992 and two in 1996.
WINDHOEK
Namibia’s sensational 18-year-old sprinter, Christine Mboma, put some serious distance between herself and the other competitors at the Irena Szewinska Memorial event in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz on Wednesday night.
She ran most of the 400-metre race a startling 25 metres ahead of the competition to claim gold.
The young sprinter couldn’t believe that she ran so fast. In March this year she set a personal best of 50.97 seconds. She trimmed that down to 49.24 on 11 April, and then went ahead to break the under-20 world record set in 1991 by Germany’s Gritt Breuer.
Then, within a week, she lowered that time to 49.22. As it stands, her only competition is Bahamian athlete Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who has a personal best of 49.08, which she set in April.
Africa’s darling
With Wednesday night’s performance, Mboma set a new African record, a Namibian record, a personal best, the seventh fastest time in history as well as a new under-20 world record.
In second place was Justyna Swiety-Ersetic of Poland in a time of 51.91 seconds, and in third Portugal’s Catia Azevedo in a time of 52.03 seconds.
World shocker
At one point in the race, a shocked television commentator could be heard saying: “You just don’t do this; you are not supposed to do this to world-class athletes.”
Not concerned at all, Mboma ran her phenomenal race and asked the Namibian nation to keep supporting her.
“I enjoyed the race. I didn’t expect to run like that; it was too much for me,” the shy athlete said.
I fear no one
This was just one of Mboma’s phenomenal races as she gets closer and closer to the Tokyo Olympic Games, at which she is most likely to face the likes of 32-year-old Jamaican athlete Stephanie McPherson, America’s Allison Felix and the Netherlands’ Dafne Schippers.
Another rival, Bahraini 400-metre world champion Salwa Eid Naser, will miss the Games after the Court of Arbitration for Sport found her guilty of breaking an anti-doping rule.
So, at this moment, the first spot is anyone’s game.
Namibian Sun has been trying unsuccessfully to get comment from Frank Fredericks on the exploits of Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi. So far, Fredericks is Namibia’s only able-bodied Olympic medallist, having won four silver medals at the Games - two in 1992 and two in 1996.
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