Rachael Nachula from Zambia, ran the 400m in 52, 21 seconds at the Coca Cola Frankie Fredericks Invitational meeting in Namibia on Friday 11 April. Thus, breaking- a Zambian senior and junior record. This was also faster than the B standard of the Olympic Games in Beijing. She also won the 100m in her best time of 11, 71. On Saturday, 12 April she won the 200m in 23, 53 seconds at the Namibian Grand Prix meeting.

Rachael is in South Africa on a sponsorship from the Olympic Solidarity Programme. Many African Federations have enrolled their talented sportsmen and women into the full-time academy programme. These countries include: Zambia, Zimbabwe; Mozambique; Namibia, Angola, Ivory Coast, San Marino, South Korea and the Congo. Athletes such as Rachael form part of the hpc and compete in the local club, provincial and national competitions as part of their performance development.

The hpc is proud of her performance and are looking forward to her participation in Beijing in August.