Africa-Press – Namibia. ATHLETICS coach Henk Botha said he expected Christine Mboma to be nominated for World Athletics’ Rising Star award, after she failed to be nominated for the Female World Athlete of the Year award.
World Athletics on Friday announced its 10 finalists, and Botha said he didn’t expect her to make the list. “Yes, I saw on social media there was quite an outcry that Christine was not on the list of athlete of the year, but we didn’t expect her to be. They nominated 10 athletes, most of whom won one or two gold medals at the Olympics, or broke world records. I think people in Namibia are a bit over-excited about Christine’s performances – she’s good, but not that good yet,” he said.
“But we hope that she will be nominated for the Rising Star of the Year award which will be announced later, I am convinced that she will be nominated there,” he added. The ten nominees for World Athletics’ Female World Athlete of the Year are:
Middle distance stars Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, American discus thrower Valarie Allman, 100m hurdler Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, high jumper Mariya Lasitskene of Russia; 400m hurdler Sydney McLaughlin of the United States; 400m and 200m athlete Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas; 800m runner Athing Mu of the United States; triple jumper Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela; and sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica.
Botha, meanwhile, said that Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi will only start competing again next year. “We are just resting now and won’t do any more events this year. We are planning to compete internationally in February at the indoor world circuit, while we might also do one or two local events in Namibia beforehand, so that their Namibian fans can see them in action,” he said.
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