Kavango East Regional Youth Sport Officer, Erastus Someno, says Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi’s achievements in athletics will change the currently low parental involvement in sports.
Eighteen-year-old sprinter, Christine Mboma became the first Namibian female to win a medal at an Olympics competition when she finished second (in a time of 21.81 seconds) in the women’s 200 metre final in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday.
Fellow Namibian sprinter Beatrice Masilingi finished the same race sixth, with a personal best time of 22.28 seconds.
“Their achievement will now make my job easier in convincing parents to have their children take part in sports,” he said.
Someno said he remembers having a dispute with a school principal once over children’s involvement in sports.
“He literally told me to find these learners a different school when they returned from sport games,” he narrated.
He said many parents in the region still have the negative perception that sports cannot change a person’s life for the better.
“Thus, I am happy because I know going forward as sports officers, we will face less problems when it comes to youth games and parental involvement,” he said.
The sports officer, who has worked with and trained both sprinters, said he met Masilingi at Noordgrens Secondary School, when he was introducing rugby to the region and she was presented as a prospect for that sport.
“I have also worked with the girls through the Namibia School Sports Union and at youth games. Even then they portrayed the same level of hard work, commitment to athletics as now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Someno said the one person he believes has played a significant role in the two sprinters’ journey is Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport and National Service, Emma Kantema-Gaomas, who introduced the athletes to the coach who led them to glory, Henk Botha.
On her part, Kantema-Gaomas said she had been involved with the girls since 2019 when they qualified for regional and national championships, up until the point she officially placed them under the tutelage of Botha.
“I continue to give them moral support and stay in touch with Henk all the time. This is a success project that has given the entire country hope,” she said.
Source: Namibia Press Agency
