Zambian runner Rachael Nachula has qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after a stunning performance during the Namibia track and field Grand Prix championships held in Windhoek at the weekend, Times of Zambia reported Wednesday.
Nachula, of Green Buffaloes athletics club and on an International Olympics Committee (IOC) scholarship in South Africa, made it to Beijing after clocking 52.21 seconds in the women's 400 meters dash.
Although Nachula was not among the top finishers in the 400 meters, her time was good enough to land her in Beijing and become the third Zambian to qualify for the Games just four months away.
Nachula joins the two boxers- welterweight Hastings Bwalya and featherweight Cacius Chiyanika, who punched their way to Beijing during recent African qualifying championships.
Releasing the results Tuesday in Kitwe of Copperbelt province of Zambia, an ecstatic National Olympics Committee (NOC) secretary, Hezel Kennedy, said Nachula had always showed potential and that her achievement would prove a milestone in her career.
Not only did the 18-year-old make the Olympics, she also improved her personal best time and broke two Zambian records in the 400 meters sprint round the track. Nachula broke her Zambian junior and the senior records which stood at 53.05 seconds.
"This girl has always been showing us that she could reach very high heights and we as NOC are extremely happy that we picked the right people for the scholarships," said Kennedy.
"She (Nachula) phoned me herself and she is also excited," she added.
Kennedy said that Nachula was in superb form at the Namibian Grand Prix as she also went on to beat her personal best time in the 100 meters race with the time of 11.71 seconds.
Nachula also beat her personal best time in the 200 meters race where she clocked 23.53 seconds to her new times in the 100 meters and 400 meters which saw her through to the Olympics.
Hoping that Nachula could take her form to the Olympics in China, Kennedy said the runner who started her career with Outreach Community Club run by Hanson Mushili in Lusaka, could bring glory to Zambia.
Kennedy said that the qualification of Nachula brings hope for a medal from the Olympics after a long time having taken athletes who have not won medals at the world's premier sports gathering.
With Nachula, Bwalya and Chiyanika making the Olympics on competence rather than as wild card entries, Kennedy said this meant that Zambians should look forward to the Olympics with hopes for medals.
She said in recent Olympic Games, six athletes have represented Zambia, most made the trip as wild card entries but the 2008 Olympics were proving different for Zambia.
Kennedy expressed hopes that more Zambians would qualify to the Olympics in the on-going qualifiers across the world in various sporting disciplines.
(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2008)