Mboma doubtful for African Championships in Mauritius

Namibian sprinter Christine Mboma is a doubt for the African Athletics Championships next month after suffering a thigh injury.

The 18-year-old was injured during the 100m at the Kip Keino Classic continental tour meeting in Kenya on Saturday, pulling up and failing to finish the race, which was won by Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Mboma’s coach Henk Botha told BBC Sport Africa the Olympic 200m silver medallist will be out for at least three weeks after receiving the results of an MRI scan in South Africa this week.

The African Championships begin on 8 June in Mauritius.

“She has a tear in her upper thigh muscle,” Botha added.

“Currently we are not sure about the African Championships but we will only know [if she will compete] in her 10-day assessment. She will definitely be ready for World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.”

Mboma is currently Africa’s highest-rated sprinter after an impressive 2021 season which saw her claim the Diamond League trophy and the junior World title over 200m in addition to silver at the Tokyo Olympics.

She will not feature in Friday’s Diamond League season opener in Doha, having been expected to race in a field which also includes USA’s Olympic bronze medallist Gabrielle Thomas and Great Britain’s world champion Dina Asher Smith.

The World Athletics Championships begin on 15 July in Oregon, United States, with the Commonwealth Games starting on 28 July in Birmingham, England.