Hilaria Johannes, who last week took part in the National Half-Marathon held in Congo Brazzaville, returned home with a gigantic trophy.

Johannes, together with fellow long-distance runners Beata Naigambo and Ruben Indongo, represented Namibia in Congo Brazzaville last week in celebration of that country's 50th independence anniversary. Other countries that took part in the half-marathon included Kenya, France and Cameroon.

"I won first place in the women's 21km race and Beata won second place. The marathon was part of my preparation for the World Half-Marathon to be held in China on October 16. For Beata, it was preparation for the Commonwealth Games to be held in India in October this year," said Johannes.

Ruben Indongo won third place in the men's 21km race. Johannes completed her 21km race in one hour, 15 minutes and eight seconds, followed shortly by Naigambo who finished at one hour, 15 minutes and 29 seconds. Third place in the women's race went to Martha Komo from Kenya who finished in one hour, 60 minutes and 30 seconds.

"I feel proud of myself and I am happy to have held our country's flag high. Namibia is now known in that part of the world because of this marathon," said 29-year-old Johannes, who is a member of the Namibia Defence Force.