Windhoek
Namibia’s 2015 All Africa Games gold and silver medalist Ananias Shikongo will lead a strong delegation of 35 Paralympic athletes to Bloemfontein, South Africa today where they will represent the country at the Nedbank National Championships for the Physically Disabled and Visually Impaired.
The competition will take place from March 19 to 24.
The Nedbank National Championships for Physically Disabled and Visually Impaired is an International Paralympics Committee (IPC) sanctioned event and will serve as the last opportunity for Namibian Para-athletes to qualify for this year’s Paralympics Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The team got their official send-off yesterday during a brief press conference in the capital, which was attended by Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) Chairperson Dr Vetumbuavi Veii, Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service Senior Sports Officer Roger Kambatuku, Namibia Women in Sport Association (NAWISA) President Carol Garoes and Coca Cola Sponsorship Manager Gordon Pokolo, as well as Namibia Paralympics Committee (NPC) Secretary General Michael Hamukwaya.
During the send-off ceremony, Namibia Beverages, under its Coca Cola brand, announced a whopping N$150 000 sponsorship, while NAWISA also threw its weight behind the team with a N$50 000 sponsorship.
With 11 Namibian Para-athletes already having clocked the Olympic standard qualifying time at various competitions last year, Hamukwaya said the plan going to Bloemfontein will be to have more athletes qualify for the Olympic Games. Most athletes will participate in athletics and swimming, among other events.
In his speech, Veii urged athletes to work extra hard and make the country proud, saying they have time and again proven that Namibia is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Paralympics in Africa and further abroad.
“With your performance in recent times, you have inspired the nation and especially those would-be disabled athletes that are still struggling to come up the ranks. They now know that they too have a role to play in society and are Namibians just like all Namibians. So go out there and make us proud as always, the entire nation is behind you,” said Veii.
Road to Rio Campaign
NPC Secretary General Hamukwaya also used the same platform to announce the committee’s new SMS competition, where the general public can stand a chance to win various prizes when they SMS the sentence “#Gold Road To Rio” to the number 28282. SMS’s will cost N$5.00 per SMS.
The competition is aimed at raising funds to prepare athletes that have qualified for this year’s Olympics and will also be used to create awareness and the hype amongst Namibians ahead of Rio 2016.