Beatrice Masilingi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beatrice Masilingi
Personal information
CitizenshipNamibia
Born (2003-04-10) 10 April 2003 (age 18)
Katima Mulilo, Zambezi Region, Namibia
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Sport
CountryNamibia
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Sprint
ClubQuinton-Steele Botes AC[1]
Coached byHenk Botha[2]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 100 m: 11.20 (2021)
  • 200 m: 22.18 (2021)
  • 400 m: 49.53 (2021)
Medal record
World U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Nairobi 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2021 Nairobi 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2021 Nairobi 4×100 m
Updated on 23 August 2021.

Beatrice Masilingi (born 10 April 2003)[3] is a Namibian sprinter. In April 2021, she ran 49.53 s in the 400 metres, an unofficial third-fastest world under-20 time in history. Masilingi placed sixth in the women's 200 metres at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, having made the final along with fellow Namibian sprinter and eventual silver medallist Christine Mboma.[4] Weeks before the 2020 Summer Olympics, World Athletics (WA) had announced that both Masilingi and Mboma would not be allowed to compete under the female classification in events between 400 metres and one mile due to WA regulations on XY DSD athletes with naturally high testosterone levels.[5][6][7]

Early life and education[]

Masilingi was born on 10 April 2003 in Katima Mulilo in Namibia's north-eastern Zambezi Region and grew up with her grandmother in Rundu. As of 2021 Masilingi, together with her fellow olympic athlete Christine Mboma, attends Grootfontein Agricultural College.[8][9]

Career[]

In May 2019, 16-year-old Masilingi won four gold medals at the school's Cossasa Games in Manzini, Eswatini, setting records in the 100, 200, and 400 metres. In the latter, she clocked personal best time of 53.09 s (no WA recognition, its database shows 52.33 on 18 May in Windhoek, Namibia).[10] In July, at the Southern Africa Athletics Championships in Moka, Mauritius, she won gold medals in both the 200 and 400 metres, and set in the former distance PB of 23.76 s.[11] She took part in the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco in August, and finished 7th in the 400 m with a time 52.56 s.

On 7 March 2020, the sprinter timed her new PB of 52.19 seconds in Swakopmund, Namibia. On 3 October, Masilingi competed at the Kip Keino Classic meet in Nairobi, Kenya and improved greatly to set the African U18 best and Namibian senior record of 50.99 s.[12][13] Afterwards, she was offered a full scholarship from University of Oklahoma.[14] In November, she won gold medals in the 100, 200, and 400 metres races at the Namibian Championships in Windhoek.[15] In December, she improved in these events to 11.38 s (Windhoek), 22.71 s (Pretoria, illegal wind), 50.44 s and then 50.42 s (Pretoria), respectively. Her result in the 400 m was 2020's world-leading time, new national senior– and also African under-20– record.[2]

On 10 April 2021, at the All Comers Meet in Lusaka, Zambia, Masilingi set new PB and Namibian record in the 200 metres, running 22.72 s. On 11 April, she greatly lowered her personal best to 49.53 s in the 400 m – 3rd fastest world under-20 time in history, she lost only to Christine Mboma who set the world u20 record.[16][17] On 20 June, Masilingi confirmed her form in Europe at the Kusociński Memorial in Chorzów, Poland – a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet, winning 400 metres with a time of 49.88 s. She set a stadium record, and her time was only 0.13 s slower than the 1976 meet and world record of 49.75 s, which was set by Irena Szewińska when she was 30 years old.[18]

She was withdrawn from the 400 metres race at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021; the Namibian athletics federation announced that she would compete in the 200 m event for which she also qualified.[19] At the 2020 Olympics Masilingi placed sixth in the women's 200 m, running a personal best time of 22.28 s in the final.[20]

Testosterone levels controversy[]

In July 2021, the Namibian national Olympic committee announced that Masilingi and fellow Namibian sprinter Christine Mboma would not be allowed to compete in the 400 m competition at the Tokyo Olympics,[5] due to World Athlectics rules introduced in 2018 requiring that athletes with certain XY DSDs participating in women's running events from 400 metres to one mile cannot have blood testosterone levels above 5 nmol/L.[7][21] Masilingi and Mboma underwent a medical assessment at a training camp in Italy in early 2021, at which they tested positive for elevated testosterone levels due to a naturally occurring genetic condition.[22][5] Both sprinters had been unaware of the condition prior to the evaluation.[22]

Parallels were drawn between Masilingi and Mboma and South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, who was the most prominent athlete to be affected by the 2018 rule change, and who also did not participate in the 2020 Olympics.[23][22] The controversy around Masilingi's withdrawal centered on the fact that the 2018 rule on testosterone levels explicitly applied to intersex athletes such as Semenya, while the Namibian Olympic committee has stated that Masilingi and Mboma were not intersex. The rules in question, however, apply only to athletes with an XY karotype and a DSD diagnosis, casting some doubt on the Namibian Olympic Committee's statement. [22][24] World Athletics was also accused by the Namibian Olympic committee of breaking a confidentiality agreement concerning the results of the initial medical assessment.[25]

Achievements[]

All information taken from World Athletics profile.[20]

Personal bests[]

Event Time (s) Wind Venue Date Notes
100 metres 11.20 +1.0 m/s Nairobi, Kenya 18 August 2021
200 metres 22.18 +1.1 m/s Nairobi, Kenya 21 August 2021
400 metres 49.53 Lusaka, Zambia 11 April 2021 A
4 x 100 m relay 44.78 Windhoek, Namibia 18 April 2021 A NR

Season's bests[]

Year 400 metres Notes
2019 52.33 A, PB
2020 50.42 A, WL, PB, AYB, AU20R, NR, #2 all-time U18 [26]
2021

International competitions[]

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Namibia
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 6th 200 m 22.28 (+0.8 m/s) PB

References[]

  1. ^ "Namibia National Track & Field Championships 2021 - Results". Athletics Namibia (PDF). 18 April 2021. p. 1. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Schütz, Helge (15 December 2020). "Masilingi runs world's fastest time". The Namibian. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Personality of the week - Beatrice Masilingi". New Era Live. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Historic silver for Namibia's Mboma as Nigeria, Ghana win medals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Namibian teens out of Olympic 400m over testosterone levels". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  6. ^ Imray, Gerald (2 July 2021). "Namibia teenagers out of Olympic 400 over testosterone level". Associated Press. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b "IAAF publishes briefing notes and Q&A on Female Eligibility Regulations". World Athletics. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  8. ^ Weidlich, Brigitte (23 August 2021). "Namibia celebrates success at Tokyo Olympics". namibian.org. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  9. ^ Ronay, Barney (2 August 2021). "Masilingi and Mboma racing against Olympic elite and complex cruelty". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Kambowe, Kenya (16 May 2019). "Cossasa heroes bag scholarships". Namibian Sun. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  11. ^ Schütz, Helge (10 July 2019). "Masilingi shines in Mauritius". The Namibian. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  12. ^ Schütz, Helge (5 October 2020). "Masilingi shatters Namibian record in Kenya". The Namibian. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  13. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (3 October 2020). "Chepkoech earns revenge at inaugural Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi". Inside the Games. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  14. ^ Schütz, Helge (21 October 2020). "Masilingi in demand". The Namibian. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Williams, Masilingi star at National Champs". The Namibian. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Namibian teenagers stun the world". The Namibian. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  17. ^ Smythe, Steve (13 April 2021). "Deanna Price goes No.3 all-time in the hammer – weekly round-up". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Official Results - 400 m Women/kobiet" (PDF). kusocinski.domtel-sport.pl. PZLA. 20 June 2021. p. 2. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  19. ^ Imray, Gerald (2 July 2021). "Namibia teenagers out of Olympic 400 over testosterone level". Associated Press. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Beatrice MASILINGI – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  21. ^ "IAAF introduces new eligibility regulations for female classification". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d Cacciola, Scott; Longman, Jeré (3 August 2021). "Barred From 400 Meters, Namibia's Mboma Wins Silver in the 200". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Caster Semenya expected to be affected by IAAF rule changes". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Athletics-Namibian sprinters resurrect 'paradox' of DSD rules". Reuters. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  25. ^ "NNOC slams World Athletics over handling of Masilingi and Mboma cases". www.insidethegames.biz. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  26. ^ "All time Top lists – 400 m Women – U18 Outdoor | until 31 December 2020". World Athletics. Retrieved 22 June 2021. Change filters for other age / territorial / time range

External links[]

Retrieved from ""