Fourteen selected to take on Africa's best

Former medallists Ryan Williams and Lionel Coetzee have been included in Athletics Namibia’s team of 14 qualified contenders to compete at the African track and field championship next week.

The Confederation of African Athletics (CAC)’s two-yearly showpiece event will be hosted in Ghana’s capital Accra from Tuesday 12 to Monday 18 April 2026.

At age 26, Williams already has two senior African Championship discus throw bronze medal performances in the memory bank – from 2024 in Douala, Cameroon, and 2022 in Mauritius.

As the recently crowned national champion in both discus throw and shot put, Williams will be confident of another top performance, after he also won the South African Championship discus throw title in Stellenbosch a week earlier.

Coetzee has regained good competitive form recently. Following his continental silver medal from Douala 2024, the national record holder from Swakopmund will be looking to once again show that he belongs among the leading long jumpers in Africa.

Wild card

For the first time in the history of Namibian male or female athletics, 18-year-old Talaya Vorster will compete at the African Championship in pole vault.

The Windhoek-born daughter of former two-time Olympic mountain biker Michelle Vorster, now lives with her family in Auckland, New Zealand.

Coached by her father Johan, Talaya’s season’s best of 3.45 metres was set at the New Zealand U20 championship on 8 March, while she set her personal best of 3.60 metres in February last year.

Only five African women so far this year have exceeded Talaya’s best-ever height, led by South Africa’s Ansume de Beer and Miré Reinstorf at 4.20.

Two jump records

Frieda Ithete will compete as the national record holder in both the long jump and triple jump.

On 4 April this year at UJ Stadium in Johannesburg, she improved her triple jump national record from 12.11 to 12.53 metres (wind -1.4).

On the same day, her long jump effort of 6.18 (wind -0.9) was also good enough to wipe Ronel Moolman’s long-standing national record of 6.05 (set in 1994 in Windhoek) off the top of the list.

• Erwin Naimhwaka will accompany the Namibian team to Accra as coach.

Men

• Magano Naseb (100m)

• Charley Matundu (100m, 200m)

• Elton Hoeseb (100m, 200m)

• Elvis Gaseb (400m, 200m)

• Ivan-Danny Geldenhuys (400m)

• André Retief (400m hurdles)

• Ryan Williams (discus throw, shot put)

• Lionel Coetzee (long jump)

• Dawid Afrikaner (triple jump)

Women

• Jade Nangula (100m, 200m)

• Ndawana Haitembu (100m, 200m)

• Tuuliki Angala (400m, 800m)

• Frieda Ithete (long jump, triple jump)

• Talaya Vorster (pole vault)