By: Hee-Dee Walenga
The 2025 Senior Athletics Championships took place at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek over the weekend. Athletes from all over the country competed to put themselves in contention for the 2026 Africa Championships and Commonwealth Games.
The Championships were originally scheduled for April, however, due to the passing of the Founding President, stadium availability, and weather conditions, the event was only able to take place in late August. Due to the delay, Namibian track and field athletes became ineligible to qualify for the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Some of the notable performances at the championships included 16-year-old Ansune Smith, who set a new national record in the women’s hammer throw with a distance of 45.81m. “I’m very shocked and very happy with myself that I accomplished this,” she said. Smith added that she dreams of attending university in the United States and competing at the Olympics.
With Olympians Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma unable to compete at this year’s championships due to injuries, Jade Nangula took centre stage by winning both the 100m and 200m gold medals with times of 11.67 and 23.82 respectively. After winning the 200m, Nangula told The Villager, “It was a great season, I had PBs at almost all of my races. My goal is to keep lowering my PB.”
On the men’s side, Magano Naseb was crowned as the new national 100m champion with a time of 10.24. The 200m title went to Charley Matundu, who finished the exciting race with a time of 20.89, the second fastest time of the year. Matundu, who finished third in the 100m finals, told The Villager, “The level of competition was high; next year I want to be a champion in both the 100m and 200m.”
20-year-old Nicholis Du Plessis won the 110m hurdles title by setting a PB of 14.61. Competing at his first nationals, Du Plessis told the media, “It feels great. To win it at such a young age is such a privilege.” The 110m national record is currently 14.12 and was set by Flip Bredenhann in 1980.
18-year-old St. Paul’s matric student, Benjamin Hendrickse, won the gold medal in the men’s high jump with a height of 2.00m. Despite his age, Hendrickse has now competed at the nationals a total of four times. “I love to compete against the top athletes [who are] invited to the nationals. We have the best of the best here,” Hendrickse expressed.
Visible sponsors of the championships were FNB Namibia and Chrystal Gold.
