The coach of Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma, Henk Botha, says all he wants for Saturday’s 200 metre 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships final in Nairobi is for them to win gold and silver medals.

Speaking to Nampa via WhatsApp hours after Mboma and Masilingi had interchanged the world junior record during the semi-finals, Botha said he does not care who wins gold or who wins silver.

“We really do not plan on breaking records, we just plan on running our level best. Those are the goals. All I want is silver and gold, they can decide who is going to take which medal on the track,” Botha said.

He added that the two athletes are in great form and they will be in competitive form during Saturday’s final.

Botha added that he is looking forward to a great race overall as the field is bursting with quality athletes.

“Beatrice is in great form right now, she looks very strong, and Christine, if the tough race is on, she is also on. I think we are going to see a shocker and hopefully also maybe below 22 seconds,” Botha concluded.

Meanwhile, Masilingi said she is happy with her performance in the 100m where she won silver and the 200m where she set a world record of 22.19 seconds (s).

On Friday she said she is looking forward to the race and will go all out.

That was less than 10 minutes after Mboma had set a new record with a time of 22.41.

The Namibians will go into Saturday’s finals as clear favourites for the gold and silver medals, with the rest of the field resigned to fighting for the bronze medal.

The final is scheduled for Saturday at 18h00, with Masilingi in lane four and Mboma in lane six.

Source: Namibia Press Agency