#KomeshoNamParalympics
TOKYO – Namibia’s coach for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games Letu Hamhola says the athletes are now well aware that there is no turning back as they are busy with their last preparations.
The Games are scheduled to start tomorrow and end on 06 September 2021, with Team Namibia having three athletes and three guides to compete in track and field events.
In an interview with Nampa yesterday, Hamhola said arriving at the athletes’ village brought a sense of relief to the athletes as well as the officials.
“There are many protocols that we had to go through; we only managed to see a track on Sunday, 22 August since leaving home (Namibia). These are sacrifices we had to make for the course and you know when an athlete walks into the village, they know there is no turning back,” he said.
He added that their motto for these games is #KomeshoNamParalympics, which means they are going forward because the athletes have worked hard, are committed and dedicated as they prepared for the games.
“From now onwards it’s only positive energy and we will eliminate anything that is not going to take us forward. There are many athletes who dream about this and want to be here and as we are here, we carry the hopes of many other Paralympians,” Hamhola said.
The coach added the most important thing at the moment is that athletes are healthy.
“Once we receive the final confirmed programme, we will know how we are going to execute all the phases of the competition because we cannot overlook other stages. The team is ready and we will take it from here as we have already done our homework,” he said.
Team Namibia will start with their activities on Friday, 27 August 2021 when T11 athlete Lahja Ishitile will compete in her first event which is the 400 metre (m) heats. She is also expected to compete in the 200m and long jump at the championships. The other athletes are Ananias Shikongo a T11 athlete and T13 athlete Johannes Nambala. Both will compete in the 100m and 400m events of their respective categories.