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Beatrice Masilingi (born 10 April 2003) is a Namibian sprinter. At the age of 18, she placed sixth in the
200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...
at the
2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
, having made the final along with fellow Namibian sprinter and eventual silver medallist
Christine Mboma Christine Mboma (born 22 May 2003) is a Namibian Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres, 200 m. At the age of 18, she won a silver medal in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres, 200 m ...
. Masilingi won silver medals in both the
100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...
and 200 m at the 2021 World Under-20 Championships. Masilingi achieved in the
400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...
the second-fastest world under-18 time, and the third-fastest world under-20 time in history, with her marks of 50.42 and 49.53 seconds set in December 2020 and April 2021, respectively. Weeks before the 2021 Tokyo Games,
World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...
had announced that both Masilingi and Mboma would not be allowed to compete under the female classification in events between 400 metres and one mile due to its regulations on testosterone levels for athletes with XY
disorders of sex development Disorders of sex development (DSDs), also known as differences in sex development, variations in sex characteristics (VSC), sexual anomalies, or sexual abnormalities, are congenital conditions affecting the reproductive system, in which developme ...
.


Early life

Masilingi was born on 10 April 2003 in
Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It had 46,401 inhabitants in 2023, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. It is located on the B8 national roa ...
, a town in the
Zambezi Region The Zambezi Region, known as the Caprivi Region until 2013, is one of Namibia's fourteen regions, situated in the north-eastern part of the country along the Zambezi River. The region's capital is Katima Mulilo. The Katima Mulilo Airport is ...
of Namibia. She was raised by her grandmother Elizabeth Muwaye Kamwi and attended Grootfontein Agricultural College in
Grootfontein Grootfontein (, named after the nearby hot springs) is a city with 26,839 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is one of the three towns in the Otavi Triangle, situated on the B8 road (Namibia), B8 national road that lead ...
.


Career


Junior career

In May 2019, 16-year-old Masilingi won four gold medals at the school's Cossasa Games in
Manzini Manzini (formerly Bremersdorp) is a large city in Eswatini, which is also the city of Eswatini's Manzini Region. The city is the country's second largest urban center behind the capital Mbabane, with a population of 110,000 (2008). It is known ...
,
Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...
, setting records in the
100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standard SI prefix for a hundred is " hecto-". 100 is the b ...
,
200 Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 200 for this y ...
, and
400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...
. In the latter, she clocked a personal best time of 53.09 s (no WA recognition, its database shows 52.33 on 18 May in
Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
, Namibia). In July, at the Southern Africa Athletics Championships in
Moka Moka () is a village in Mauritius located mainly in the Moka District. The western part of the village lies in the Plaines Wilhems District. Since 1967 it forms part of Constituency No. 8 Quartier Militaire and Moka. The village is administered b ...
, Mauritius, she won gold medals in both the 200 and 400 metres and set the former distance PB of 23.76 s. She took part in the
2019 African Games The 12th African Games (), also known as Rabat 2019 (), were held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This was the first time that the African Games were hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union in Janua ...
in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
, Morocco in August, and finished 7th in the 400 m with a time of 52.56 s. On 7 March 2020, the sprinter timed her new personal best of 52.19 seconds in
Swakopmund Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop River, Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 road (Namibia), B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo Region, Erongo administrative district. It ...
,
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
. On 3 October, Masilingi competed at the
Kip Keino Classic The Kip Keino Classic is a track and field meeting held at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya and named after Olympian Kipchoge Keino. The inaugural edition took place in 2020 as part of the inaugural World Athletics Continental Tour The W ...
meet in
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
, Kenya and improved greatly to set an African U18 best and Namibian senior record of 50.99 s. Afterwards, she was offered a full scholarship from
the University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the state of Oklahoma. ...
. In November, she won gold medals in the 100, 200, and 400 metres races at the Namibian Championships in
Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
. In December, she improved in these events to 11.38 s (
Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
), 22.71 s (
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
, illegal wind), 50.44 s and then 50.42 s (Pretoria), respectively. Her result in the 400 m was the 2020 world-leading time, the new national senior and also the African U20 record.


2021

On 10 April, at the All-Comers Meet in
Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...
,
Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
, Masilingi set a new personal best and Namibian record in the 200 metres, running 22.72 s. On 11 April, she greatly lowered her best in the 400 m to 49.53 s – the third-fastest world U20 time in history; she lost only to her compatriot,
Christine Mboma Christine Mboma (born 22 May 2003) is a Namibian Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres, 200 m. At the age of 18, she won a silver medal in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres, 200 m ...
, who set an unofficial world u20 record. On 20 June, Masilingi confirmed her form in Europe at the Kusociński Memorial in
Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, winning 400 m with a time of 49.88 s. She set a stadium record, and her time was only 0.13 s slower than the 1976 meet and world record of 49.75 s, which was set by
Irena Szewińska Irena Szewińska (née Kirszenstein; Polish pronunciation: ; 24 May 1946 – 29 June 2018) was a Polish sprinter who was one of the world's foremost track athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events. She won a total of seven Olympic ...
when she was 30 years old. She was withdrawn from the 400 metres race at the postponed
2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
; the Namibian athletics federation announced that she would compete in the 200 m event for which she also qualified. At the Games Masilingi placed sixth in the women's 200 m, running a personal best time of 22.28 s in the final.


Testosterone levels controversy

In July 2021, the
Namibian National Olympic Committee The Namibia National Olympic Committee (IOC code: NAM) is the National Olympic Committee representing Namibia. It was created in 1990 and recognised by the IOC in 1992 Namibia made its debut at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona where it was r ...
announced that Masilingi and fellow Namibian sprinter
Christine Mboma Christine Mboma (born 22 May 2003) is a Namibian Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres, 200 m. At the age of 18, she won a silver medal in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metres, 200 m ...
would not be allowed to compete in the 400 m event at the Tokyo Olympics, due to World Athletics rules introduced in 2018 requiring that athletes with certain XY DSDs participating in women's running events from 400 metres to one mile cannot have blood
testosterone Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...
levels above 5 nmol/L. Masilingi and Mboma underwent a medical assessment at a training camp in Italy in early 2021, at which they tested positive for elevated testosterone levels due to a naturally occurring genetic condition. Both sprinters had been unaware of the condition before the evaluation. Parallels were drawn between Masilingi, Mboma and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n
middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...
Caster Semenya Caster Semenya Order of Ikhamanga, OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic medal, Olympic gold medals and three World Athletics Championships, World Championships in the women's 800 metres ...
, who was the most prominent athlete to be affected by the World Athletics 2018 rule change, and who also did not participate in the 2020 Olympics. The controversy around Masilingi's withdrawal centred on the fact that the 2018 rule on testosterone levels explicitly applies to
intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...
athletes with XY DSDs such as Semenya, while Abner Xoagub, president of the
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
National Olympic Committee, at first said in a voice clip that Masilingi and Mboma "have XX chromosomes." The World Athletics regulations in question, however, apply only to athletes with an XY karyotype and a DSD diagnosis, casting doubt on Xoagub's statement. Xoagub also accused World Athletics of breaking a confidentiality agreement concerning the results of the initial medical assessment. Before the Tokyo Olympics, the
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
NOC issued an official statement acknowledging the assessment of World Athletics while stating that the athletes had previously been unaware of their condition.


Achievements

All information is taken from the World Athletics profile.


International competitions


Personal bests


Season's bests


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masilingi, Beatrice 2003 births Living people Namibian female sprinters People from Katima Mulilo Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Namibia Olympic female sprinters Intersex sportspeople 21st-century Namibian sportswomen Intersex women