The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
NAMIBIAN teenager, Christine Mboma claimed the silver medal in the women’s 200 metres final at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.
The 18-year old made a strong finish to secure second spot in a time of 21.81 seconds behind the winner, Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah who crossed the finish line in 21.53 seconds to claim her second gold in Tokyo, days after winning the 100m on Saturday, on a day in which she set a new Olympic record of 10.61 seconds to beat United States of America Florence Griffith Joyner’s 10.62 seconds set at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Mboma finished better than the highly rated Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as well as Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast. Another Namibian teenager, Beatrice Masilingi was sixth in the race in a time of 22.28 seconds.
The 18-year old Mboma already holds national records in the 200m and 400m in the Southern African country. Sadly, Mboma and Masilingi cannot compete in their preferred distance, the 400m at the Tokyo Olympics because of naturally occurring raised testosterone levels. This means the Namibian teenagers fall under the similar regulations that have sidelined double South Africa’s double Olympic champion Caster Semenya in the 800m.
Mboma on Monday broke the world Under-20 record twice in a space of about eight hours at the Olympic Stadium on her way to the 200m final.
-@Mdawini_29
