Namibian female sprinters and a long-distance runner were on Saturday crowned winners of their respective categories at the African Union Sport Council (AUSC) Region 5 Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA) Awards.

The awards aimed at recognising, rewarding and celebrating the region’s sportspersons for iconic and laudable achievements in sports, were held at Matshapa, in Eswatini.

The awards were made up of 12 categories recognising athletes, coaches, member countries, regional confederations, journalists and teams that had produced outstanding sports performances at regional and international levels.

Namibia received five nominations in different categories at this year's awards.

Long-distance runner and 2022 Namibia Sports Awards Sportswoman of the Year, Helalia Johannes was crowned as the 2023 AUSC Region 5 sportswoman of the year, overcoming a challenge from Naledi Marape, a chess player from Botswana and Lara van Niekerk, a South African swimmer.

T11 female sprinter and NSC sportswoman of the year, Lahja Ishitile, won the sportswoman of the year with a disability award, outclassing her competitors Ivy Chanda of Zambia (football) and Minkie Janse van Rensburg (swimmer) from South Africa.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency