Pako Seribe (12) en route to winning the 400m in Maputo (© Mark Ouma)
Maputo, MozambiqueBotswana’s African junior 400m champion Pako Seribe, teammate Thapelo Ketlogetswe and Namibian Strydom van der Wath provided the Southern Africa Region Junior Athletics Championship highlights in Maputo Mozambique (29-30 May).
Although South Africa the region’s strongest team skipped the event, it did not dampen the lively spirit of competition among the ten nations. Botswana edged Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho to top the medal table. All ten teams returned home with at least one medal.
Men’s 400m
Increasing his pace at 250m, Seribe dug deep before he could pip his vastly improved compatriot Ketlogetwe at the finish line the one lap sprint. Seribe’s winning time of 47.58 and Ketlogetwe’s 47.67 was inside the World Junior Championships qualifier of 47.94.
“Lately, I have struggled in training with a cramp in my left calf muscles. I hope to have recovered by the time of the World Junior Championships in (Moncton) Canada. This is my last year as a junior and I want to go out on a high note,” says Seribe.
Men’s javelin
Namibian Strydom van der Wath won the javelin in 66.58m. His effort was eight centimetres inside the qualifier for the World Junior Championships. “I am particularly delighted that I qualified for the World (Junior) Championships in my only competition this year. I have just recovered from an elbow operation in January. My confidence has soared and I think I will throw over 70m in Canada,” says Van der Wath.
Women’s Sprints
Botswana’s 15-year-old new find Leungo Matlhaku had the largest medal haul of the championships. Matlhaku won the 100m (12.16) and 200m (24.77) and also went on to bag a silver medal in the 4x100m before anchoring Botswana’s victorious 4x400m relay team. Her teammate Orabile Babolai claimed victory in the women’s 100m hurdles (15.25) and 400m hurdles (1:02.27).
Lesotho’s Jobo Khatoane prevailed in both the 10,000m (31:33.59) and 5000m (14:21.22).
Nkosinathi Dvuba and Mthobisi Ndwandwe handed Swaziland a 1-2 sweep in men’s 800m and 1500m. In the women’s middle distance, Goresmusandu Faithful of Zimbabwe pulled a double in 800 (2:12.38) and 1500m (4:34.76).
On the infield, Zimbabwean Paul Madzirire emerged victorious in the Long Jump (7.39m) and Triple Jump (13.88m), as Namibian Charlene Engelbrecht carried the day in the women’s javelin, discus, and shot put. Besides winning the women’s long jump, Janet Boniface of Seychelles improved her life time best by eight centimetres with a leap of 5.91m.
Mark Ouma for the IAAF
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