Para-athletes to compete in SA and Dubai
The Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary general, Michael Hamukwaya, has expressed excitement with the athletes selected to represent the country at upcoming competitions in Dubai and South Africa.
A group of 16 athletes, four guides and seven officials travelled to South Africa yesterday to compete in the 60th edition of the South African Sports Association for Physically Disabled (SASAPD) Championships slated for 18 to 22 March.
Hamukwaya will travel to the fifth edition of the Dubai Grand Prix slated for 21 to 24 March with an athlete and a guide.
He said these competitions form part of the NPC’s pathway for the 2022 World Para-Athletics Championships and the 2023 African Para Games.
“The SASAPD is traditionally an event that allows our athletes to compete with the best athletes on the continent, and also allows us to build a strong team for competitions such as the 2023 African Para Games and the World Champs,” he said.
The secretary general added that the NPC wants to have a core team of athletes that can represent the nation at international competitions, as well as prepare for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
“We have athletes going to participate in the Commonwealth Games and we hope they will improve their times as only the top eight athletes from the
Commonwealth countries will make it to the games,” Hamukwaya said.
He stated that most of the young athletes travelling to South Africa were selected from the Youth Games and Athletics Namibia’s competitions.
Hamukwaya said he will be travelling with Chris Kinda and his guide Riwaldo Goagoseb to Dubai for Kinda’s classification from T12 to T11, as he has lost his vision completely.
“We are hoping that he can be classified as a T11. He is also going to compete at this Grand Prix even though he already runs against the top athletes such as Ananias Shikongo and others. Competing at the Grand Prix will give him exposure and also open up his understanding of what to expect at the world stage,” he said.
The team travelling to Dubai is being funded by the Gaps programme, which supports the development of inclusive sports pathways throughout the Commonwealth, while the team travelling to the SASAPD Championships is funded by NamPower and the sports ministry.