Rodger Kambatuku of the Namibia School Sport Union (NSSU) has praised the inaugural African School Games, calling it a fantastic platform for talent development and identification. 

He expressed satisfaction with Team Namibia’s achievements at the first-ever event.

Namibia sent a team of 31 youth athletes to the games, competing in a range of sport activities, including athletics, boxing, cycling, swimming, wrestling and gymnastics. 

The competition started on Friday and will end today.

As of yesterday, Team Namibia had won a total of 21 medals, with five coming from swimming, one from boxing, two from cycling, two from equestrian, seven from gymnastics and one from athletics.

In an interview, Kambatuku, from Algeria, stated that he is pleased with Namibia’s debut performance. 

“I would say I am happy with how Team Namibia is doing at the moment. We have managed to win medals in every single sport code we brought to the maiden games,” he said.

“The games had powerhouses who sent top-performing athletes, and Namibia still managed to get more medals. I am happy, and I believe, with this being our first time here, I would say we have outperformed ourselves at this competition,” he added.

Ashley Martins, who won a silver medal in the javelin throw, said she learned a lot from the competition. 

“I threw over 40, and I am proud of that. I am happy with how my team and coaches have encouraged us to work hard. But I would say it was an eye-opening event, where we learned a lot. Heading back, we would incorporate a lot of the stuff we learned here in our trainings,” she said.

The African School Games project was officially launched during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and commended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

The games are part of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa’s (ANOCA) vision to create a sustainable sport ecosystem by investing in training, talent identification and education through sport from a young age.

The African School Games are considered a cornerstone of a new model for sports development in Africa. 

They demonstrate the organisation’s commitment to using sport as a tool for inclusion, peace, social cohesion and international outreach.

– Additional reporting from africaolympic.com

– mkambukwe@nepc.com.na