Africa-Press – Namibia. RUNNING machine Ruben Indongo may have been lost to Namibian athletics at the youthful age of 20, but there is no doubt the former Welwitschia Athletics Club long-distance runner left a lasting legacy in his country of birth.
The Windhoek-born athlete, who started running under the watchful eye of teacher Nashipili in 1995 at Namutoni Primary School, left for France in 2002. He has since obtained French citizenship and went on to represent that country as a senior athlete.
Indongo, who is the elder brother of former world boxing champion Julius ‘Blue Machine’ Indongo, is the current holder of the Namibian 3 000m and 20km road records in very impressive times of 8:13.86 and 59,05, respectively.
The towering athlete started running under the Sunshine Athletics Club before joining Welwitschia.
“I’ve always been a long-distance runner. My first national team selection was in 1999, when I qualified for the World Cross Country Junior Championship in Belfast, Northern Ireland. However, what was supposed to be a once in a lifetime experience, turned into a nightmare.
“The official who travelled with us came back with the wrong information from the pre-race press conference, and I never got the chance to put on my racing shoes, vest and shorts because we turned up late at the racing venue,” he recalls.
Indongo also received a bursary from the International Amateur Athletics Federation on which he went to train in Kenya with other junior athletes from different countries.
Among the highlights of his achievements in road running was when he raised eyebrows in 2009 after he relegated the previously unbeaten champion of Namibian road running, Luketz Swartbooi, to second place to win the final leg of the Old Mutual Victory Race in Windhoek.
“Beating Luketz over 10km was no mean feat those years. I was already in France at the time and I was in very good shape and I was only 27 years of age.”
He says he set some of his best times in 2009 like running 27,48 minutes over 10km and 58 minutes over 20km, while in 1988 he ran his best time of 61 minutes in the half marathon.
Indongo, who also played football at both primary and high school, was last called up to the Namibian team for the World Cross Country in France in 2004, but he chose not to participate because he was fresh from the army and not in good shape to compete.
“My best race was at the World Military Games in 2007, where I finished fourth in the 5 000m finals. The year 2010 was also not bad for me, as I finished 20th in the World Half Marathon with the French team, which made me the first European home.
“I also represented Namibia in Botswana and South Africa at senior level.”
His biggest regret was the fact that he never had an opportunity to compete against some of the world’s best junior runners after he missed out the chance in Northern Ireland, he says.
Indongo describes former women’s marathon champion Elizabeth Mongudhi Leino, who now lives in Finland, as the person who had the biggest influence on his career, while he singles out Swartbooi and Reinhold Iita as his two toughest opponents at senior level.
After representing France between 2010 and 2016, Indongo quit running competitively after a knee operation, and is coming from his second operation. Since then, he only competes in fun races. Paris-based Indongo wakes up at 05h30 for his early morning run at 0545 until 06h45 after which he goes straight to work.
Indongo is married to Rauha Indongo, who hails from Grootfontein, and the couple has two children, a boy and a girl.
The former A Shipena Secondary School pupil, who obtained his French citizenship in 2010, is serving in the French army and is employed in the administration regiment.
“Nothing is permanent in the army and we constantly attend training. There is never a dull moment; there is always a lot to do. Although I’m employed in the administration regiment, I also go on foreign peacekeeping missions.
“Three years ago, I was deployed to Guyane in South America, where I served for three years. The administration regiment is the mother home of the foreign legion and I’m in the security department,” he explains.
Indongo says he has now mastered the French language because everything is done in French.
He says although his running career was shortened at the age of 35, he is very happy with what he has achieved in life so far.
“I’ve no regrets today because although I can’t continue running at the highest level anymore, I have what I have today because of my career as a runner. I’m grateful for my running talent. I feel blessed because athletics made me who I’m today.
“Travelling is what I miss the most from my running days. I still miss my junior category years, when we used to train with Welwitschia club at the Independence Stadium,” he says.
He says he is still regularly in touch with Leino, with whom he went to Europe. In Namibia, he is still in touch with his former national teammates like Helalia.
Indongo advises young and aspiring runners: “Believe in yourself, be disciplined and set yourself goals. You must know that behind big achievements there are also lots of sacrifices. Always remember that anything is possible. Have faith and just believe in your own abilities.”
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