Namibian woman crowned cross country champion

Middle distance runner Lavinia Haitope proved just why she is a force to be reckoned with when she was crowned the senior woman champion at the Confederation of African Athletics Southern Region (CAA SR) Cross Country Championships held on 02 March 2013 in Maseru, Lesotho. The event attracted 10 Southern African nations including the Island of Seychelles.
Haitope who was up against fierce competition from top athletes in the region was pleased with her performance. “The course was very tough, but I felt that I could go faster, because the pace in the women’s event was not as fast as I expected” she remarked.
The Namibian senior women’s team won the overall bronze medal in the team category, whilst the men found the going tough as South Africa’s indoor world champion Elroy Galant paced fast  from the onset.
The twelve member Namibian team was selected to represent Namibia at the CAA SR Cross Country Championships following their successful participation at the recently concluded Pupkewitz National Cross Country Championships held in February 20.
The Pupkewitz National Cross Country Championships which were hailed as a resounding success saw the likes of Beata Naigambo, Lavinia Haitope, Mynhard Kawanivi and Johannes Skrywer battling it out in the terrains of Rehoboth in order to be crowned as National Champions over the cross country event. Lavinia Haitope and Mynhardt Kawanivi who were the eventual  respective winners in the senior women and senior men’s events automatically booked themselves a spot in the World Cross Country Championships slated for Poland on 24 March 2013. Julian Fryman and Shiivomwene Shilongo were victorious in the junior men and women events and were placed 15th and 14th overall respectively at the CAA SR Cross Country Championships.
Team Manager and Athletics Namibia Cross Country Chairperson Tobias Hiskia was pleased with his team’s overall performance in Lesotho stating that “it could not have been done without the valued support of the Pupkewitz Foundation”. Hiskia went on to add that “through continued development of cross country, Namibia will be able to host successful Cross Country events at  international level in the near future.”