Namibia’s teenage sprinting sensation and 2021 BBC African Sports Personality of the Year, Christine Mboma, said her attention is now set towards the upcoming athletics season.

The 2021 Olympic Games 200 metre (m) silver medallist said this on Saturday after a dominant performance of 22.30 seconds that won her the 200m sprint at Athletics Namibia (AN)’s second Grand Prix of 2022 held at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek.

Mboma started 2022 in superb style, winning the 100m with an impressive time of 11.25 seconds at the first Grand Prix of the season that was held in Swakopmund a week ago, and a week later she once again showed her competitors that she is in a class of her own.

Her 22.30 seconds is far from her season-best of 21.78 seconds, but was good enough to win her gold. Nandi Vass who competes for UNAM Athletics Club came second with a time of 24.82 seconds, while Johanna Ludgerus from Correctional Services completed the podium spots with a time of 25.27 seconds.

In an interview with the media, Mboma said she was happy to win the race but she has a long way to go in improving her time.

“This is my last race here at home because we are now preparing to go to the United States of America (USA) for training as the athletics season would start soon. I want to be ready when the Athletics World Championships start, as well as the Commonwealth Games and Diamond League,” she said.

The Athletics World Championships will be held in the USA in July, while the Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham, England during July and August 2022.

Mboma’s coach, Henk Botha, told Nampa that this year they are going to do things a bit different compared to 2021.

“We usually had our camp in Italy and we then move from there to competitions but at the moment we are going to Dubai and then move to the USA, where we will be based for a month, preparing for the Athletics World Champs,” he said, adding that they will still be in Italy when the Diamond League starts, but not as they would have wanted.

The coach stated that despite his athletes having a busy schedule, they will be back for the AN National Championships slated for the first weekend of April in Swakopmund.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency