Namibian sprinter Beatrice Masilingi set a new national record on Sunday en route to a second placed finish in the 200m race at the Wanda Diamond League in Stockholm, Sweden.

The 18-year-old Namibian clocked a time of 22.65 seconds to finish behind Shericka Jackson of Jamaica and Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast.

Jackson won the race in a time of 22.10 seconds, while Ta Lou came second in a time of 22.36 seconds but was later disqualified for stumbling out of the blocks during the first start of the race.

Following the disqualification Masilingi, who broke the previous 200m national record of 22.67 seconds set by Christine Mboma less than a month ago, was awarded the silver medal, while Beth Dobbin of the United Kingdom who had finished fourth, walked away with the bronze.

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, Masilinga’s coach Henk Botha said it was a well-executed race, but there are a number of things they could have changed.

“Here and there we should have changed something but we are well on track for Tokyo. We are now going back to our base in Florence, Italy to continue working hard on the 200m before we travel back home to Namibia,” he said.

The coach also told this agency the Namibians have signed deals with global sport brands Adidas and Nike.

“Masilingi and Mboma signed shoe contracts with Adidas and Nike [respectively],” Botha said.

Source: Namibia Press Agency