Namibian teenager Beatrice Masilingi won on Wednesday August 18 broke the national record as she won the Heat 3 of the women’s 100m in a time of 11.20seconds at the Kasarani stadium.
Masilingi who recently participated in the Tokyo Olympics finished ahead of Nigerian Tima Seikeseye and Melissa Gutschmidt of Switzerland. Kenya’s Mercy Chebet finished in the 7th position with a personal best time of 12.39 seconds but will not be participating in the semis scheduled for 16:10hrs local time.
“I got off the blocks late, and it was too late for me to dig in. It’s a good experience standing against the likes of Masilingi,” said Chebet, a high school student in Kericho County.
In the men's category, Kenya's sole representative Sylvester Simiyu finished fifth in heat six with a personal best of 10.66 seconds. Despite not progressing to the semis, the youngster was satisfied with his performance. He disclosed that he would further hit the gym to improve himself.
"I am happy to register my personal best although I ran short of energy in the final metres of the race. I want to improve on my finishing and hit the gym more. I really need a gym instructor who will help me gain power. It feels good to be here considering that the far I had reached before was regionals in the school games in 2019. Now that I have gained the experience needed at the global level, I want to do both 100 and 200 as I prepare for the Commonwealth Games," he said.
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