Africa-Press – Namibia. THERE were some excellent races at the third leg of Athletics Namibia’s Grand Prix series in Windhoek on Saturday, and although no national records were under threat, several events went down to the wire.
One of the highlights of the meet was the men’s 400m where national champion Mahmad Bock of Unam just managed to beat the upcoming 19-year-old Andre Retief of the Quinton Steele Botes Athletics Club in a desperate finish to the line.
Bock split the tap in 48,07 seconds, with Retief just behind in 48,10, while Tjomatjitjitua Kuhanga of Golden Cheetahs came third in 49,31.
Bock’s winning time was well below his personal best of 46,24 and he said he can still improve a lot.
“It was a little bit shaky and I still have work to do, but I’m getting there. I’m planning to peak a little bit later in the season, but I’ll take it as it comes,” he said, adding that he hoped to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.
“Obviously, that’s the main target, so everyday we grind. The Commonwealth qualifying time is 45,50 seconds, it’s just a split second away, so why not, I think I can reach that,” he said.
Bock paid tribute to Retief, but said he hoped to win gold at the national championships in April.
“We’re both competitors, so we work and we get better. I can’t say who will win the national champs, but I’m a champion and always have been – in my heart, in my spirit and my desire you can never kill,” he said.
Another race that went down to the wire was the men’s 100m sprint with Ernst Narib of Golden Cheetahs just pipping his team mate Anthony Vries and Elvis Gaseb of Namib Lions to the line. Narib won gold in a time of 10,60 seconds, while Vries and Gaseb both finished in 10,62 seconds.
The women’s 400m saw fine showdown between Nandi Vass of Unam Athletics Club and Johanna Ludgerus of Namibia Correctional Services, with Vass winning gold in 58,19 seconds, while Ludgerus came second in 58,56 and Jade Nangula of Unam third in 1:01,69.
Ludgerus, however, came out on top in the 100m, winning gold in 12,31 seconds, followed by Hanganeni Fikunawa of Unam (12,51) and Epifania Johannes of Kakadhinwa Athletics Club (12,67).
Tuane Silver of Windhoek Gymnasium Athletics Club continued her fine form of late when she won the women’s discus in 40,82m, finishing well ahead of Pee-Rette van Schalkwyk of Rehoboth Athletics Club (25,63m) and Queen Gontes of Athletics Development Club (22,22m).
The 19-year-old Silver recently broke the national shot-put record with a distance of 14,86m, and with time on her side, the national discus record of 46,42m could also come under threat.
Another youngster, the 17-year-old Saara Shikongo of Kakadhinwa Athletics Club, continued to impress in the women’s middle distances, winning the 1 500m in 4:40,52, finishing well ahead of Alina Armas of the NDF (4:46,15) and Tresia Kakede of Kakadhinwa (4:48:46).
It was Shikongo’s third successive victory in the Grand Prix series and she said she gave it her all.
“At first I was a bit scared, because there were big runners up against me, but I tried to run fast and when I came to the 200m I just pushed very hard. I’ve had a good season so far, so I just want to continue winning at the next grand prix in Rietfontein and at the national championships,” she said.
David Dam of Omaruru Athletics Club once again prevailed in the men’s middle distances, winning the 1 500m in 4:01:13, followed by Simon Paulus of NCS (4:02:28) and Thomas Shigwedha of Nampol Athletics Club (4:05:11).
Sandro Diergaardt of Nampol AC gave a fine performance to win the men’s long jump with a distance of 7,56m, which was more than a metre ahead of Romario Nghifitikeko of Athletics Development Club (6,50), while Clinton Beukes of Tsaraxa-Aibes Athletics Club came third in 6,16m.
Namibian para-athlete Bradley Murere of Athletics Development Club also excelled in the long jump, finishing sixth overall in 6,09m, while he already qualified for the Commonwealth Games last year.
“I was really excited when I qualified for the Commonwealth Games last year, while I’m planning to compete at the SASAPD championships in South Africa as well,” he said.
“I’ve been working very hard with my coach, Ulla Finkeldey, and it’s paying off. I can see my performances are improving here locally, so when I go to compete outside, I just have to remain confident and give it all I’ve got,” he said.
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