29 September 2008
Windhoek — With the more prestigious annual Fish River Marathon taking centre stage - a good number of fringe athletes seized the opportunity and made their presence felt during the 2nd edition of the AfriSam Cement 10-kilometer road race last weekend.
Reinard Amupala ran a comfortable time of 31 minutes, 34,06 seconds to clinch first place in the 10-kilometer road race that wounded its way around the streets of Katutura and Khomasdal before it came to a conclusion at the Katutura Swimming Pool, under fancied weather conditions, on Saturday.
Veteran runner Oscar Komeya took the lead in the early part of the race with Johannes Naitumbu in hot pursuit but Amupala soon caught up with the frontrunners and took the lead halfway through the race.
With fatigue clearly setting in, Komeya gradually fell out of the picture, paving the way for a two-horse race between Namupala and Naitumbu. However, Amupala's experience saw him through after he sprinted away from his challenger at the last 300 metres' stretch - opening up a gap of almost 60-meters before the finishing line.
Naitumbu had to be satisfied with second place in a time of 31 minutes, 44 seconds with Komeya trailing in third place - slightly more than a minute off the pace of Namupala.
Beata Naigambo showed her competitors a clean pair of heels in the women's category - breaking the tape on 36 minutes, 43,25 seconds. Helena Ipinge and Anna Amukoto came second and third respectively.
The race attracted a disappointing field of 51 athletes - almost a quarter of last year's entries. The organizers blamed the low turnout on the staging of the Fish River Marathon at Keetmanshoop, which was staged simultaneously, with the majority of leading marathoners opting to compete in the southern event because of the lucrative prizes at stake.
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