… In return, Namibia highlighted ongoing efforts to upgrade the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek to meet Confederation of African Football (CAF) certification requirements, as well as future World Athletics track certification standards. …
Namibia, Botswana strengthen sport cooperation … through landmark BNSC-NSC engagementNamibia Minute.
Monday, 11 May 2026
Namibia’s news, on the hour · Est. 2026
Monday, 11 May 2026
Windhoek—:—London—:—New York—:—Beijing—:—
Organization
World Athletics
International athletics governing body that sanctions events, establishes ranking points, and sets eligibility policies including gender testing requirements.
In coverage
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
- May 2026
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe told AFP the IOC’s decision in March to introduce testing for gender to determine eligibility to compete in the female category, preventing transgender women from competing, is a “very important development for the Olympic movement”. …
Coe hails IOC gender testing decision- April 2026
… He won the men’s long jump with a distance of 7.71m, equivalent to 1 074 points on the World Athletics’ points scoring system, and not far off his national record of 8.27m set three years ago. …
Coetzee shines at Addis Ababa Grand Prix- March 2026
… The test for the SRY gene is “almost always on the male Y chromosome” and “is used as a highly accurate proxy for biological sex”, according to World Athletics. …
IOC's new gender testing throws up multiple questions… Lionel Coetzee produced the best performance of the meet in terms of World Athletics ranking points with a great jump of 8.12m in the men’s long jump, for which he received 1 164 points. …
Two national records at Independence Meet… The Classic is a World Athletics recognised event and will attract various award-winning and world-class athletes. …
Premier athletics showcase on the horizon… The NSC will be a World Athletics Category C ranked event which ranks below gold, silver and Diamond League events, but Botha said it ranked highly in Africa. …
Namibia Street Classic to make history- February 2026
… According to Vries, all design documentation was completed in December 2025 and submitted to CAF for compliance review in line with its 2022 Stadium Regulations under Category 3 requirements, while other documents were submitted to World Athletics for assessment against its 2019 …
Namibia awaits CAF for construction of Independence Stadium… Coetzee won the men’s long jump with a distance of 7.71m, which was equivalent to 1 074 points on World Athletics’ points scoring system, while it was not too far off his national record of 8.27m set three years ago. …
Coetzee shines at Khomas Athletics Champs- January 2026
… Namibian athletics coach Henk Botha, who is now also a World Athletics event organiser, yesterday confirmed the news. …
World’s top athletes coming to Windhoek
Sport
Namibia, Botswana review sports partnership progress
The News
Namibia and Botswana held a high-level bilateral engagement between their sports commissions in Gaborone to review progress under a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding and map a stronger path for regional sport development. The partnership has yielded results in athlete support, high-performance preparation, sport governance and regional cooperation through athlete exchanges, joint training camps, and event hosting.
7 May 2026 · New Era →
Thursday 7 May
Namibia, Botswana review sports partnership progress
Namibia and Botswana held a high-level bilateral engagement between their sports commissions in Gaborone to review progress under a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding and map a stronger path for regional sport development. The partnership has yielded results in athlete support, high-performance preparation, sport governance and regional cooperation through athlete exchanges, joint training camps, and event hosting.
7 May 2026 · New Era →
Friday 1 May
IOC gender testing decision praised by World Athletics president
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe called the IOC's March decision to introduce gender testing for Olympic eligibility a "very important development," limiting Olympic women's sports from 2028 Los Angeles to biological females and those without differences in sexual development. The announcement drew mixed reactions: while Coe welcomed the move, French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari called it "a step backwards," and the gene's discoverer argued that defining biological sex entirely by chromosomes is "overly simplistic."
1 May 2026 · The Namibian →
Wednesday 22 April
Coetzee wins Addis Ababa Grand Prix long jump with 7.89m
Namibian long jump champion Chenoult Lionel Coetzee won the Addis Ababa Grand Prix with a 7.89m jump. Coetzee, an Africa Championship silver medalist with a national record of 8.27m, is preparing for the upcoming Bank Windhoek Athletics Namibia Senior National Championships and has expressed ambitions for the Commonwealth Games and African Championships.
22 April 2026 · The Namibian →
Friday 27 March
IOC reintroduces gender testing despite scientific and ethical concerns
The International Olympic Committee has announced the reintroduction of gender testing through SRY gene screening, last used in 1996, to protect female competition categories. The move raises practical, legal, ethical and scientific questions, with critics including the scientist who discovered the SRY gene arguing the approach is overly simplistic and lacks scientific consensus linking the test to sporting performance, while affected athletes report severe personal and financial consequences.
27 March 2026 · The Namibian →
Monday 23 March
Two national records set at Independence athletics meet
At Namibia's Independence Celebrations Athletics Championships, Ansune Smith set a new women's hammer throw national record of 50.31m—breaking the 50m mark for the first time—and Frieda Iithete broke the national triple jump record with 12.78m. Several other athletes came close to existing records across middle-distance, sprinting, and field events.
23 March 2026 · The Namibian →
Monday 9 March
Namibia hosts World Athletics bronze-level event in March
Namibia's first-ever premier street athletics showcase, the Namibian Classic, will take place 27–28 March at Vegkop Stadium in Windhoek, featuring world-class international and local athletes competing in sprints, hurdles, jumps, pole vault, and the street mile. The World Athletics-recognised event will allow competitors to earn global ranking points and will be broadcast live on SuperSport and World Athletics platforms.
9 March 2026 · New Era →
Friday 6 March
Namibia Street Classic athletics event launches in Windhoek
The Namibia Street Classic, a World Athletics Category C ranked event costing about N$5 million, will take place on 27–28 March in Windhoek, featuring international athletes and Namibian stars including Christine Mboma. Organiser Henk Botha said the event will be Africa's first street athletics event and the largest sporting event hosted in Namibia, with live broadcasts on SuperSport and World Athletics platforms.
6 March 2026 · The Namibian →
Monday 23 February
Namibia awaits CAF approval to begin Independence Stadium construction
Namibia's ministry says it is waiting for a technical review from African football's governing body (CAF) before finalising preparations for the Independence Stadium. Design documentation was submitted to CAF in December 2025 for compliance review, but the ministry has not received a response despite follow-up attempts, though it aims to complete construction preparations by March 2026.
23 February 2026 · The Namibian →
Monday 16 February
Coetzee wins Khomas long jump with eye on Commonwealth Games
Lionel Coetzee dominated the men's long jump at the Khomas Athletics Championships with a leap of 7.71m, while several other Namibian athletes produced performances exceeding 1,000 World Athletics points. Coetzee said he aims to qualify for the Commonwealth Games and African Championships this season.
16 February 2026 · The Namibian →
Friday 30 January
World's top athletes to compete in Windhoek street event
Namibia will host a World Athletics-sanctioned street event on 27–28 March featuring international stars including shot putters Joe Kovacs and Tom Walsh, pole vaulters Sam Kendricks and Sandi Morris, and likely Swedish superstar Armand Duplantis. The event, to be held on Robert Mugabe Avenue, is described as the first international athletics street event in southern Africa, with a minimum prize purse of US$25,000.
30 January 2026 · The Namibian →
Wednesday 14 January
Masilingi stops testosterone drugs, faces health and financial hardship
Beatrice Masilingi, a Namibian track athlete, stopped taking testosterone-reducing drugs imposed by World Athletics in October 2023, citing severe side effects including bone density loss. Her sponsorship deal with MTC and other endorsements have ended, leaving her facing financial strain as she considers her future in athletics.
14 January 2026 · New Era →