Kenyan wins African Athletics Official of the Year award
Kenya's 4 by 400m relay team celebrate after winning bronze during the World Under-20 Championship at Kasarani on August 22, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Coach Botha, a former rugby tactician, is credited with the success of Namibian athletes Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma.
- Mboma claimed a historic silver medal in women's 200m at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.
Kenyan Pauline Murumba has been named the 2021 African Athletics Official of the Year by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA).
At the same time, Namibian coach Hendrik Botha scooped the best African Athletics Coach of the Year accolade.
In a Wednesday statement, CAA said Murumba, 51, won the recognition thanks to the “very important” roles she played in the success of the 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships and Kip Keino Classic held in Nairobi.
The 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships was staged at the 60,000-capacity Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani from August 18 to 22.
Kenya finished first with 16 medals (eight gold, one silver and seven bronze). Finland were second with five medals (four gold and one silver), while Nigeria were third with four gold and three bronze medals.
Kenya also dominated the Kip Keino Classic that was held at the same venue on September 18.
“…It is because of the very important role she played as a referee judge during the 2021 edition of the World U20 Championships organised in Nairobi, a world championship which was a great success,” said part of the statement from CAA on why Murumba emerged the best.
“Pauline supervised the track events in liaison with the relevant ITO (International Technical Official) of World Athletics. Pauline also had an important technical responsibility in the organization of the Nairobi Kip Keino Classic Classic for the 2020 and 2021 editions.”
According to CAA, as an ITO in Africa since 2002, Murumba has extensively contributed in the planning and judging at various world events. She was a member of the technical committee and technical director at the 2017 World Athletics Under-18 Championships.
Coach Botha, a former rugby tactician, is credited with the success of Namibian athletes Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma.
Mboma claimed a historic silver medal in women's 200m at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.
She timed 21.81 seconds behind Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Hearin who clocked 21.53. Masilingi finished sixth in the same race.
At the World Athletics Under-20 championships in Nairobi, Mboma won gold medal over the same distance in 21.84, ahead of Masilingi who timed 22.23.
