Hesron Kapanga 

PARIS – Paralympian Lahja Ishitile and her guide Sem Shimanda on Saturday won Namibia’s first medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with a new Paralympic record in the women’s T11 400 metre (m) sprint. Ishitile, who is making her third appearance at the Paralympic Games, finally broke through with her guide by clocking 56.20 seconds in the final race of the T11 400m to win a gold medal at the Stade de France. 

This gold medal is her first at the Paralympic Games, and makes her the third Namibian athlete and second woman to win gold at the Paralympic Games. 

The first was Johanna Benson, who won the country’s first gold medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. 

Ananias Shikongo and his guide Even Tjiuiju won the second gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in Brazil. To be crowned Paralympic champion in the 400m sprint on Saturday at the famed Stade de France, Ishitile and her guide put up impressive performances in the heats and semi-finals on Friday morning and night, clocking 57.33 seconds and 57.34 seconds, respectively. 

In the final, the Namibian sprinter set off with a strong performance, leading the race by the 200m mark. 

With the last remaining 100m, the two Namibians were in contention for gold, setting up a new Paralympic record of 56.20 seconds, her new personal best and a new African record. Brazilian sprinter Thalita Vitoria da Silva and her guide Felipe Veloso da Silva scooped the silver medal with a seasonal best time of 57.21 seconds, while He Shanshan and her guide You Junjie of China won bronze with a new personal best time of 58.25 seconds. 

Meanwhile, other Namibian athletes who competed on Saturday are T11 male sprinter and 400m world champion Chris Kinda and his guide Kelvin Goagoseb, who did not make it to the final of the 400m after finishing third in heat two of the semi-finals.  

The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities, and is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).  -Nampa