Sprinting stars Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi will be conspicuously absent from this year’s Diamond League competitions. 
This development follows a period of underwhelming performances since their return from a two-and-a-half-year ban imposed by World Athletics due to naturally high testosterone levels. Consequently, their recent results have fallen short of the standards required for entry into the prestigious Diamond League, which commenced in March.
Since the 2023 ban, enacted under World Athletics’ regulations concerning athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD), which mandated the lowering of their testosterone levels to compete, the two Olympians have struggled to recapture the electrifying form they displayed prior to the suspension.
Their most recent outing was at the World Athletics Continental Tour Golden Grand Prix in Botswana in April. There, Masilingi clocked 11.48 seconds in the 100m, finishing sixth, while Mboma trailed in eighth place with a time of 11.88 seconds.
Mboma holds the distinction of being Namibia’s youngest Olympic medalist, having secured a silver medal at the Tokyo 2021 Games at the age of 18. Masilingi, also 18 at the time, finished sixth in the same event.
Speaking to Confidente this week, their coach, Henk Botha, addressed the sprinters’ absence from the Diamond League. He pointed directly to their times in Botswana, stating they were far from the qualification standards.
“For now, our priority is to get Christine and Beatrice back to their peak form because their times in Botswana were simply not up to par. There will be no Diamond League participation unless we see significant improvement in their performances. Entry into the Diamond League requires an athlete to be ranked within the top eight globally, and even then, an opportunity only arises if a higher-ranked athlete withdraws, allowing the ninth-ranked athlete to compete,” Botha explained.
Currently, the primary focus for Mboma and Masilingi is the World Athletics Championships scheduled for September in Tokyo. They also have Continental Tour events on their competition calendar.
Both athletes have been managing niggling issues, with Mboma notably having missed considerable track time and also sustaining an injury during the Botswana meet, from which she has now recovered.
“Realistically, qualifying for the World Championships is a more attainable goal at this stage compared to gaining entry into the Diamond League,” Botha concluded.