. Mupopo

BY ADRIAN MWANZA –
AFRICAN champion Kabange Mupopo yesterday sprinted her way into the semi-finals of the ongoing 2017 world athletics championships in London after winning her 400m flat heat with a season best time of 51.09 seconds.
After watching world champion Alyson Felix of the United States of America (USA) and Shaunae Miller-Uibo from the  Bahamas win the first two heats with relative ease, Mupopo stood up to them by also showing a clean pair of heels to her fellow runners to take Heat-Three.
She will be in Lane-Four in the third and last race of the semi-finals tonight at the Queen Elizabeth Olympics stadium, moments after fellow Zambian Sydney Siame races in the 200m heat.
The Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) was left ecstatic about the result with General Secretary Davison Mung’ambata singing praises of the 24-year-old runner.
Mung’ambata said the London Meet was the epitome of athletics and Mupopo’s showing just proved she was world-class before moving focus to the semi-finals where the heat will increase.
“We hope she can keep it up in the semi-finals because the competition levels will increase as the competition goes on. But knowing her, she will be up to it because she is a fighter,” he said.
He urged the runners and coaches to continue working hard at the games.
“I would also want to encourage Sidney who will be taking to the tracks on Monday to emulate Mupopo and reach the semis,” he said.
In her race yesterday, Mupopo eclipsed her season best time of 51.50 seconds and marginally fell short of her personal best time of 50.22 seconds.
She left her fellow heat competitors by some distance with Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson finishing second (51.26s) and Gunta Cudare (51.37s) of Latvia in third in a really fast heat.
While the three qualified automatically to the semi-finals, the next three finishers still squeezed through to the semi-finals for posting the best times for those outside the top-three.
These are Lydia Jele of Botswana, Ruth Sophia Spelmeyer of Germany and Cuba’s Roxana Gómez who finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Spelmeyer joins the Zambian in the same heat in the semi-finals.
Compatriot Sidney Siame is this evening takes to the tracks as he competes in the 200m heats brandishing a season and personal best time of 20.36 seconds in the 200m race.