Sports

Namibia: Athletics Stars’ Recovery On Track

BEATRICE Masilingi and Christine Mboma are on the mend, their coach, Henk Botha, says. Both stars experienced mid-race injury misfortune on the international scene within the space of a week.

Masilingi, who limped off midway through the women's 100m at the Gaborone International Meet in Botswana on 30 April , is expected to return to action by next week after making a swift recovery from a torn hamstring.

The 19-year-old's hamstring problems first flared up in the United States (US), where the two Olympic stars were fine-tuning for the loaded season ahead.

Masilingi missed Saturday's Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, where Mboma crashed out of her 100m showdown with Jamaican legend Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce with a groin problem.

Mboma (18) is recuperating in Johannesburg, with a prognosis on her time on the sidelines to be determined after 10 days.

"They [specialists] said the 10-day review is ahead of what they scheduled for, and we may see Beatrice back on the track sooner than expected," Botha said on Tuesday.

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Botha is optimistic that Christine, who was presented with the BBC African Sports Personality of the Year award for 2021 at the meeting in Nairobi, will also not be out of action for too long, so she may still compete at the African Games which takes place in Mauritius in June.

"There's a torn muscle on the upper thigh. There's a problem with the growth plate in her left hip, and they have to rectify that through rehabilitation," Botha said.

"We will most probably know whether she would be in the African Games in about 10 days. Then we'll do a reassessment.

"Everybody is in good spirits. Christine will stay behind in Joburg for rehab. I'll come and visit her within 10 days again to see how the recovery is going. By then, Beatrice will most probably be ready to take to the track."

BBC RECOGNITION

Mboma hopes to win more medals and inspire others across the continent, she said when she received the BBC award.

She took the accolade after becoming the first Namibian woman to ever win an Olympic medal when taking silver in a star-studded 200m final in Tokyo last year.

"This award motivates me to continue [from] where I stopped last year, to put in more hard work to continue doing the best," she told BBC Sport Africa.

"It's quite heavy, but I am happy to hold my trophy. I am still excited about the BBC award I won early this year. I feel like I won it today.

"It [rewards] the hard work and support from people, and I hope it will inspire lots of people, especially the young ones in Africa."

Mboma saw off Kenyan runners Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon, South African para-athlete Ntando Mahlangu, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker to win BBC African Sports Personality of the Year.

In addition to her Olympic silver last year, Mboma was also a Diamond League champion and under-20 gold medallist over 200m, and broke the u20 record over the distance several times.

Artmotion S.Africa

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