Lahja Ishitile, accompanied by her guide Sydney Kamuaruuma, is set to compete at 10h26 today in the T11 200-metre (m) heat at the Paris Paralympic Games. 

The athlete has already made Namibia proud by securing a gold medal in the 400 m race last weekend. 

There is high hope that she will bring home another medal in today’s event. 

The President of Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba, congratulated Ishitile on her performance.

“The historic accomplishment of Namibian paralympic athlete Lahja Ishitile in the women’s T11 400 m demonstrates the values of hard work, discipline and commitment. By competing and earning a gold medal, Lahja has made us all proud and her story of tenacity will inspire many athletes towards greatness. I extend my heartfelt commendation for her outstanding performance,” Mbumba acclaimed.

In addition, Namibia’s para-athlete Ananias Shikongo, along with his guide Even Tjiuiju as well as and Chris Kinda and his guide Riwaldo Goagoseb, were scheduled to compete in the 100 m T11 semi-final last night. 

Shikongo and Tjiuiju earned their spot in the semi-final after winning their 100 m T11 qualifying heat with an impressive time of 11.39 seconds, which is also their season best. 

Kinda and Goagoseb also put up a strong performance, finishing third in their heat with a time of 11.57 seconds. 

 Johannes Nambala was also set for action last night, competing in the T13 400 m heat. 

-lmupetami@nepc.com.na