Category: Games

National Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary-general, Michael Hamukwaya, says the recently released International Paralympic Committee (IPC) standing will guide their selection of athletes who will represent Namibia at the upcoming World Para Athletics Championships.

The NPC recently concluded its World Para Athletics (WPA) 2023 European Grand Prix of Jesolo, Italy and Nottwil Grand Prix in Switzerland.

These formed part of the 10th anniversary of the WPA Grand Prix and the NPC used the opportunity to improve its athletes’ ranking ahead of the IPC World Para Athletics Championships slated for France in July 2023.

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, Hamukwaya said six Namibian athletes are ranked in the top 10 of the IPC athletics and the NPC will take a team that can compete for podium places.

“At the World Champs in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates, we had 15 athletes representing the country but we only managed to win two medals by one athlete. So we are trying to avoid that from repeating itself,” he said, adding that the NPC will only consider athletes that are ranked in the top 10 to fight for podium places.

He said the athletes not included in the group for the World Para Athletics Championships will still have a chance to qualify for the Paralympics through the African Games that will be held in Ghana later this year.

“We just had a very successful trip to Europe where our athletes had a tough trip in Italy but improved their performances with personal bests at the Nottwil Grand Prix in Switzerland. Our goal is to acquire at least four slots for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and the World Champs, and then at the African Games, we can add more,” Hamukwaya said.

The secretary-general said having a bigger group of athletes does not guarantee more slots.

“We need the best of the best in our team, athletes who can stand toe to toe with the best in the world,” he said.

The athletes that are currently ranked in the top 10 of the IPC are T11 male sprinters Ananias Shikongo and Chris Kinda; T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile; T44 sprinter Denzel Namene; T37 sprinter Petrus Karuli; and T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala.

Hamukwaya stated that for the team to perform well at the IPC World Para Athletics Championships, they need to be in camp early to prepare, but due to a lack of funds, that dream might not be realised.

Source: NAMPA

Namibian athletes with disabilities showcased their talents at the just-ended World Para Athletics (WPA) 2023 Nottwil Grand Prix in Switzerland, securing a total of 18 podium places.

The final round of the WPA Grand Prix was held at the Sport Arena Nottwil, located at the Schweizer Paraplegic Centre and formed part of the 10th anniversary of the WPA Grand Prix.

On the last day of the competition, T44 athlete Denzel Namene led the way with a gold for Team Namibia in the 100 metre (m) sprint, with a time of 12.23 seconds. Namene was the only athlete in his category and was made to compete in a mixed-race event alongside T46, T11, T36 and T38 sprinters. Based on the Raza scoring system, he walked away with gold.

Another gold medal for Team Namibia on the last day of the championships came from T11 athlete, Ananias Shikongo, guided by Even Tjiuiju. Shikongo won gold in the 100m sprint, while Chris Kinda and his guide Riwaldo Goagoseb settled for a bronze.

Kinda and German sprinter Marcel Boettger crossed the finish line at the same time of 11.43 seconds to take third place. Shikongo ran a seasonal best of 11.32 seconds, while Minyang Kang of China took the second place with a time of 11.39 seconds.

Another T11 sprinter, Immanue Alfredo Bernardo, and his guide Hatago Murere, clocked 11.78 seconds and finished seventh overall.

Nambala won bronze in the 100m with a time of 10.98 seconds, while Norwegian sprinter Ageze Salum Kashafali ran a world record time of 10.45 seconds, but his record could not stand as it was wind aided.

T46 sprinter Bradley Murere won a silver medal after clocking 11.03 seconds. His record, which would have been his personal best, could also not stand as it was also wind aided times. Lithuanian sprinter Danas Sodaitis won the race with a time of 11.02 seconds.

Petrus Karuli a T37 athlete, won a silver medal with a time of 12.67 seconds. Valentin Bertrand of France clocked 12.52 seconds to win gold.

Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Lahja Ishitile and her guide Sem Shimanda won a silver medal with an impressive seasonal best record of 12.40 seconds, while Guohua Zhou of China won the gold with a time of 11.91 seconds.

In the T12 category, Lahja Ipinge and her guide Fillipus Kotokeni Paulus won a bronze medal with a personal best of 13.00 seconds. Dominica Republic sprinter Darlenys Severino de la Cruz took gold with her time of 12.03 seconds.

After three days of competition, Team Namibia won 18 medals – (four gold, 10 silver and four bronze).

The team is expected to return home from their European tour on Monday.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Nyandarua County nominated MCA, Carol Wangu, has urged the County government to set aside enough funds to upgrading local sports facilities as a way of supporting talent development.

She was speaking at Ol’ Joro’orok stadium, Nyandarua County over the weekend during the MCA cup tournament where Ushindi FC won the inaugural MCA Carol cup after beating Reings FC 2-1 in the finals.

With that victory, Ushindi earned a trip to Ruiru in Kiambu for a friendly match against Ruiru Prison FC courtesy of the tournament sponsor Carol Wangu who is a nominated MCA in the Nyandarua assembly.

The winner scored in both halves through John Maina and James Ngure while Reigns scored their solitary goal in the first half through Ephantus Githinji.

Reings were first to score in the 30th minute before Ushindi cancelled the lead in 40th minute. The match looked destined for a draw when Ngure beat an offside trap to net the winner in the 85th minute.

The MCA said taking the winners for a trip to Ruiru for a friendly match against Ruiru Prison will give them exposure.

‘Some of the players here can be spotted by bigger clubs during the friendly. I promise to sponsor such tournaments regularly to keep youths busy and prevent them from falling into alcohol and drug abuse,’ she said.

The County chief officer for sports, Peter Kariuki said the large turnout of spectators showed people were hungry for sports entertainment.

He said a perimeter wall will be built around the stadium in addition to courts for other games established inside the facility.

He challenged soccer teams in the Ol’ Joro’ orok area to form one strong team that can join one of the national leagues.

‘The County government is ready to facilitate the team with transport to travel for league matches,’ he said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Namibian T46 and T11 sprinters Petrus Karuli and Lahja Ishitile won Team Namibia’s first gold medals at the World Para Athletics (WPA) 2023 Nottwil Grand Prix underway in Nottwil, Switzerland.

The final round of the WPA Grand Prix is underway at the Sport Arena Nottwil located at the Schweizer Paraplegic Centre. This year’s Grand Prix forms part of the 10th anniversary of the WPA Grand Prix.

Day two of the Grand Prix saw Namibian athletes compete in the 400 metre (m) sprints. Karuli who competed in a mixed race of T37/38, walked away with gold from his sprint of 57:48 seconds.

Meanwhile, another gold for team Namibia came from T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile and her guide Sem Shimanda, who won their race with a time of 01:00:92. The men’s T11 400m sprint saw Ananias Shikongo and his guide Even Tjiuiju win a silver medal and Chris Kinda and his guide Riwaldo Goagoseb took a bronze medal.

Gauthier Makunda of France ran the best time out of the three 400m heats with a time of 52:64 seconds and walked away with the gold medal. Shikongo and Kinda clocked 54.23 seconds and 54.31 seconds to finish second and third respectively.

T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala also walked away with a silver medal in the 400m sprint, while T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and her guide Fillipus Kotokeni took home a bronze medal, her first in this European Tour.

After two days of competition, Team Namibia has won 10 medals, of which two are gold, seven silver and one bronze.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibian T46 sprinter and long jumper Bradley Murere on Thursday won Team Namibia’s fourth medal with a seasonal best jump at the World Para Athletics (WPA) 2023 Nottwil Grand Prix in Switzerland.

The fifth round of the WPA Grand Prix is underway at the Sport Arena Nottwil located at the Schweizer Paraplegic Centre. This year’s Grand Prix forms part of the 10th anniversary of the WPA Grand Prix.

On what was the opening day of the championship on Thursday, Team Namibia walked away with four silver medals from the 200 metre (m) and long jump events.

Adding to the three medals that were won earlier on the day in the 200m sprints by T11 male sprinter, Immanuel Alfredo Bernado; T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile and T37 sprinter, Petrus Karuli; Namibian long jumper Murere jumped his seasonal best of 6.09m. He has a personal best jump of 6.25m.

Alejandro Ochoa Jose Messu of Colombia won the gold medal with a jump of 6.30m, while German athlete Dominik Jonas Winkeler took the last podium position with a jump of 5.53m.

Nine athletes and five guides are representing Team Namibia at the 2023 Nottwil Grand Prix, which ends on Friday.

The athletes are T11 male sprinters Ananias Shikongo, Kinda Chris and Alfredo Bernado; T11 sprinter Lahja Ishitile and T12 sprinter Lahja Ipinge; T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala; T46 sprinter Bradley Murere; T37 sprinter Petrus Karuli; and T44 sprinter Denzel Namene.

The athletes are accompanied by guides Even Tjiuiju, Hatango Murere, Kelvin Goagoseb, Philipus Paulus and Sem Shimanda.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary-general, Michael Hamukwaya says the Nottwil Grand Prix will be used as the final benchmark for athletes ahead of the World Para Athletics Championships.

The fifth and final round of the WPA Grand Prix will be held from 25 to 27 May 2023 at the Sports Arena Nottwill situated at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre.

Speaking to Nampa on Tuesday, the Namibian Team manager for their European Tour, Hamukwaya said athletes have a last chance to prove themselves to the world.

“We were in Italy a week ago where the athletes had a chance to improve on their times, but that did not happen. Therefore, we are looking forward to the Nottwil Grand Prix as this is the last competitive competition before the World Champs,” he said.

Hamukwaya added that the deadline for athletes to qualify for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships is 28 May 2023. He is hopeful that Namibian athletes will rise to the occasion and improve their ranking.

“The 2023 IPC World Athletics Championships is slated for France in July. It’s important for our athletes to be ranked in the top 10 after this championship, as it will give us more slots,” he said.

He added that athletes must prove themselves at the Nottwil Grand Prix because this will give the NPC an indication of how many athletes are ready for silverware at the World Championship.

“In 2019, we took 15 athletes to the World Para Athletics Championships, and only one athlete won medals. We ended up being awarded only one slot for the Paralympics, which is why it’s important to know if we need a bigger group or a smaller group for the world champs,” Hamukwaya said, adding that the NPC is thankful to the government for making this trip possible.

Namibian athletes who travelled with the team are T11 male sprinters Ananias Shikongo, Kinda Chris, and Alfredo Bernado, T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile and T12 sprinter Lahja Ipinge, T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala, T47 sprinter Bradley Murere, T37 sprinter Petrus Karuli, and T64 sprinter Denzel Namene.

The athletes are accompanied by guides Even Tjiuiju, Hatango Murere, Kelvin Goagoseb, Philipus Paulus and Sem Shimanda.

The management team consists of Hamukwaya, chef de mission Jean-Paul Schmidt, Ruan Mocke (physiotherapist), Letu Hamhola (head coach) and Naomi Schmidt (assistant coach).

Source: The Namibian Press Agency