TO SAY 2020 was a challenging year for sport would be an understatement. The advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic wrecked havoc across the globe, robbing many of their livelihood and worse still, their lives.

Stringent Covid-19 restrictions meant there was very little sporting activity in Namibia, especially on the competitive front, this year.

However, the limited action brought some very notable achievements. The following are 2020’s most noteworthy sport highlights.

Football

The Young Warriors shone light on a gloomy Namibian football landscape, giving the nation hope that things may get better next year.

The youngsters made history earlier this month by qualifying for the under-20 Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in Mauritania, after reaching the Cosafa u20 Championships final which they lost 1-0 to Mozambique.

It was a remarkable achievement for a side lacking in game time and which had barely been together for two weeks before the tournament kicked off.

That unfamiliarity showed in their opening match, as Namibia went down 1-0 to last year’s Cosafa champions Zambia.

However, the Young Warriors bounced back impressively to overcome Malawi 2-1 in their second match before securing their passage to the semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Comoros.

Another 1-0 victory over Angola saw Namibia book their ticket to the final and Mauritania.

The team’s strong performances have led to calls for some of the outstanding players to be drafted into the Brave Warriors setup ahead of their second African Nations Championship appearance.

Despite an inactive domestic league due to never-ending administrative wrangles between the Namibia Football Association and the Namibia Premium League that have caused domestic football to be grounded, the Brave Warriors gave a solid display when they held South Africa to a 1-1 draw in a friendly in Rustenburg on 9 October.

Luther Singh gave South Africa a first half lead but Absalom Iimbondi equalised with a low shot midway through the second half.

It was a fine performance in preparation for their Afcon qualifiers against Mali in November and Namibia got off to a promising start in a narrow 1-0 defeat in Bamako on 13 November.

The only goal came via a dubious penalty by El Bilal Toure in the 32nd minute of a match in which Namibia more than held their own against their highly rated opponents.

Four days later, however, Namibia gave a lacklustre performance when the two sides met again in Windhoek and this time Mali ran out convincing 2-1 victors.

Mali went 2-0 ahead after goals by Sekou Koita and Moussa Doumbia and although Elmo Kambindu pulled a goal back for Namibia, Mali were full value for their win to book their place at next year’s finals in Cameroon.

Mali lead Group A on 10 points, followed by Guinea on 8, Namibia on 3 and Chad on 1 point.

Guinea are now the favourites to qualify along with Mali, although Namibia still have a mathematical chance of making the finals.

Athletics

THE veteran Helalia Johannes remained among the world’s top marathon runners during 2020, while a junior athlete, Beatrice Masilingi burst onto the international scene with some exceptional performances.

Johannes, who won a bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, started the year off in style when she won the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon in Japan in a new Namibian record time of one hour eight minutes and 10 seconds (1:08:10) on 2 February.

That was nearly two minutes faster than her previous Namibian record of 1:09:58 that was set at the Old Mutual Victory Races in Swakopmund in 2013, while the closest she came to that mark in recent years was when she won the 2019 Two Oceans Half Marathon in 1:10:30.

Due to Covid-19, Johannes could not compete abroad for most of the year, but when she finally made her appearance at the Valencia Marathon on 6 December, she was once again in record breaking form.

Competing against the world’s top marathon athletes, Johannes finished third in 2:19:52, which was more than two minutes faster than her previous national record of 2:22:25, and also the seventh fastest time in the world during 2020.

With that performance, Johannes underlined her status as one of the world’s top marathon runners, while Namibia became the third African country to break the 2:20 barrier in the women’s marathon after Kenya and Ethiopia.

But it was the Grootfontein youngster Beatrice Masilingi who sent shockwaves through the athletics world with some superb performances this year.

On 7 March, then still only 16 years old, she served notice of what was to come when she won the 400m at a meet in Swakopmund in 52,19 seconds, which was the fastest u20 time in the world at the time.

After the Covid-19-induced break she stunned an international field at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on 3 October to win the 400m in a new national record time of 50,99 seconds. It broke Tjipe Herunga’s previous national record of 51,24, while it was also the fourth fastest time of the year at that stage.

More was to come though as on 12 December she once again lowered that mark when she won a meet in Pretoria, South Africa, in 50,42 seconds, which was the fastest time in the world this year. As if that was not enough, Masilingi also won the 200m in a new Namibian record time of 22,71, while she qualified for the 2021 Olympic Games in both events.

It has been a brilliant year for Masilingi and at the tender age of 17 more is sure to come from this fantastic athlete.

Another junior athlete who shone was 18-year-old Ivan Danny Geldenhuys, who broke a 35-year-old junior Namibian record when he won the 400m in 46,29 seconds at a meet in Pretoria on 14 March.

At the time, it was the fastest u20 time in the world, although it had dropped down to fourth on that list by the end of the year.

Twenty-year-old Ryan Williams is another athlete to watch after he broke his own Namibian discus record twice at the age of 20.

On 31 October, he broke his own record of 53,92 metres with a throw of 56,70m but the record did not count since a plastic measuring tape was used instead of a steel one.

Two weeks later though the right equipment was in place as he once again beat his previous mark with a new record distance of 56.06m at the National Athletics Championships in Windhoek.

Boxing

Jeremiah Nakathila remains Namibia’s best hope for a world title shot after two impressive performances during 2020.

On 7 November, he beat compatriot Immanuel Andeleki on a second-round knockout and a month later he once again made short work of Tanzania’s Emmanuel Amos with a second-round knockout.

Nakathila’s record now stands at 20 wins and a solitary defeat which came four years ago against Russia’s Evgeny Chuprakov. Since then he has racked up 10 straight victories, which has seen him move up to third on the World Boxing Organisation’s world rankings and a world title shot could be in the offing in the coming year.

Harry Simon Junior remained unbeaten with two victories during 2020 although he looked very uninspiring against Rafael Iita and was rather fortunate to win by unanimous points decision.

Other prospects, however, did not do so well.

Mikka Shonena, who was ranked fifth in the world by the WBO for most of 2020, suffered his first pro defeat when he was knocked out by Brendon Deres of Zimbabwe on 12 December.

Former unified world champion Julius Indongo, meanwhile, suffered his third consecutive defeat after a second round KO by Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan on 27 November, while Sakaria Lukas suffered his first pro defeat against Isaac Avelar of Mexico by unanimous points decision on 5 December.

In amateur boxing, Jonas Junias Jonas qualified for his second successive Olympic Games when he reached the finals of the African qualifying tournament in Dakar, Senegal, on 27 February.

He beat Abdelhaq Nadir of Morocco by a 3-2 split decision in the lightweight semi-finals to qualify for the Olympics, and the following day went on to win the gold medal after beating Richarno Colin of Mauritius 4-1 in the final.

Cricket

Namibia’s national cricket team was mostly inactive during 2020 due to Covid-19, with only two World Cricket League 2 matches being played in Oman in January.

On 8 January, Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs with Craig Williams scoring 129 not out, while JJ Smit took five wickets for 44 runs, but the next day they suffered an eight-wicket defeat to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), when they were bundled out for 94, with UAE reaching the target for the loss of two wickets.

They were supposed to play Oman a second time on 12 January but the match, and the tour, was called off when a three-day mourning period was declared after the death of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman.

In July, Namibia received international recognition when it was announced that they had won the International Cricket Council’s Associate Member Men’s Performance of the Year award.