Namibia’s female sprinters Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi produced impressive performances on Monday to scoop gold and bronze medals at the Josef Odlozil Memorial competition in the Czech Republic.

The event, which was witnessed by a number of spectators was held at Juliska, Prague where Mboma and Masilingi competed in the 200-metre event.

Mboma, who had a slow start from the blocks, came from behind to win a gold medal in a time of 22.67 seconds which is a new national record, her personal best as well as meeting record.

The 18-year-old Namibian sprinter who will be representing the country at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan broke the competition record of 22.74 seconds which was set by Stephanie Durst of the United States of America in 2007.

Her 22.67 second run will now replace the 23.34 seconds national record which was set by Globine Majova in 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa.

Meanwhile, Masilingi who also ran a better time than the previous national record with a time of 22.82 seconds, came third behind Gina Bass of Gambia to clinch a bronze medal.

The two athletes are using this event as part of their preparations for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, coach Henk Botha said they were over the moon with the excellent results.

“Beatrice lost a stripe somewhere in the straight and she could have run a better race, but we are happy with the results from these young girls who are just 18 years old and ran in a world class event. If they keep their feet on the ground we know a lot is waiting for them,” said Botha, who added that he was honoured to be their coach.

Source: Namibia Press Agency