Mboma is human

Every Christine Mboma fan's worst fear came true on Saturday when the star injured her groin and had to be carried off the track with a stretcher.
Mboma has a huge following. Not only is she a Namibian star, but she has garnered a following not only in Africa but the rest of the world too. So, seeing her like that for the first time since we fell in love with her hurt.
It was truly heartbreaking and left many in limbo and rightfully so, because, look, Mboma is the best thing that has happened to Namibia since God knows when. Mboma is a happy place for most in this country where everything is just a mess.
If people are not stealing, the justice system is so flawed that one would mistake a politician for a criminal. If this makes any sense.
So really, seeing people sending out heartfelt messages to the star touched me. I don’t think Mboma understands the magnitude of her impact and the way she has turned unhappy homes into happy places. She has given hope to failing athletes and to an industry which was merely a dumping ground for retiring politicians and so much more. The latter also a discussion for another day.
But now the thing is, we have armchair sports reporters and critics, blaming Henk Botha for the devastating way the star exited the 100m event on Saturday. Critics saying that he is pushing her too hard and should rest her for some events.
I don’t know how I feel about this, I don’t know how much an athlete’s body can take and how soon they can recover from a race. All I can say is, we really need to chill a little and allow her team to work.
We are okay as long as Mboma is not hurt and winning, but the moment something happens it becomes someone’s fault.
Mboma is not superhuman. This is a 19-year-old child who I believe just enjoys running. Yes, she picked up an injury – the best athletes in the world were here before. Show me an athlete that never got injured throughout their career.
The reigning champion Ellaine Herah-Thompson struggled with an Achilles tendon injury for nearly five years. Last year she bagged the 100 and 200m together at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Usain Bolt suffered from a hamstring injury.
I’m not saying that because they had these injuries we should not feel the emotions we do as fans. Fact of the matter is that a groin injury is one of the most common injuries athletes get. It takes about 4-8 weeks to heal. More severe groin injuries take longer. We cannot point fingers at this moment and say it happened because of this and that.
We were all expecting Mboma to storm to victory. We have become accustomed to her winning. She has spoiled us so much that every time she runs we expect a top podium finish. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work like that. We need to leave a little room for disappointment.
This young girl has done so much for us. For this country. Number one, she ran her way out of poverty; she ran us out of depression and at a time when everything else in Namibia was failing, for example the depressive hole local football finds itself in; this girl ran us to happiness.
Let’s be adult about this and let her recover without shifting blame to anyone. It happens!
Let’s offer them support and hope for the best in her recovery. Not only her though; Beatrice Masilingi too suffered a hamstring injury at the Gaborone Invitational Meet.
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