Heroes’ welcome for stars
Rewards for medals yet to be determined
The Ministry of Sport is yet to determine what kind of reward to give the Paralympic medal winners, who won five medals at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Deputy minister of sports Agnes Tjongarero, who was speaking at the end of a street parade in Windhoek, said the media and public would be informed about what the government has in store for the athletes once all the consultations were done.
“We met with the team to discuss what the medal winners from this year’s games will be given before they left for Rio but we will inform the media and public at a later stage,” she said.
She could not contain her excitement as she shook hands with the athletes before delivering her speech at the UN Plaza in Katutura.
She said her emphasis that teams must start competing and not just participating was proven by the Paralympic team, who brought home five medals from the Paralympic Games for the first time.
“We have shown the world that we can win medals but now we must start preparing for the next games in 2020,” she said, adding that it was also time to start identifying new talent.
Tjongarero congratulated the other athletes who did not win any medals, encouraging them to work harder next time and never to give up on their dreams.
Gold medallist Ananias Shikongo was excited about bringing back three medals.
“I am really excited about my achievement and I know that I deserve this because I have been fighting to qualify since 2005 and my target was to win a medal. So this is my biggest achievement as I have fought so hard for this,” said Shikongo.
He added that he would go back to training, as breaking the Paralympic record encouraged him to train even harder.
Silver medallist Johannes Nambala expressed his gratitude for the support from the nation.
He said since this was his first participation at the Paralympic Games, winning two silver medals was a huge achievement.
Nambala said although his target was a gold medal in the 400m race, he was happy with his achievements and would train harder for the 2020 Paralympic Games.
The team was welcomed by members of the public and the minister of sport, Jerry Ekandjo, at Hosea Kutako International Airport on Wednesday.
Deputy minister of sports Agnes Tjongarero, who was speaking at the end of a street parade in Windhoek, said the media and public would be informed about what the government has in store for the athletes once all the consultations were done.
“We met with the team to discuss what the medal winners from this year’s games will be given before they left for Rio but we will inform the media and public at a later stage,” she said.
She could not contain her excitement as she shook hands with the athletes before delivering her speech at the UN Plaza in Katutura.
She said her emphasis that teams must start competing and not just participating was proven by the Paralympic team, who brought home five medals from the Paralympic Games for the first time.
“We have shown the world that we can win medals but now we must start preparing for the next games in 2020,” she said, adding that it was also time to start identifying new talent.
Tjongarero congratulated the other athletes who did not win any medals, encouraging them to work harder next time and never to give up on their dreams.
Gold medallist Ananias Shikongo was excited about bringing back three medals.
“I am really excited about my achievement and I know that I deserve this because I have been fighting to qualify since 2005 and my target was to win a medal. So this is my biggest achievement as I have fought so hard for this,” said Shikongo.
He added that he would go back to training, as breaking the Paralympic record encouraged him to train even harder.
Silver medallist Johannes Nambala expressed his gratitude for the support from the nation.
He said since this was his first participation at the Paralympic Games, winning two silver medals was a huge achievement.
Nambala said although his target was a gold medal in the 400m race, he was happy with his achievements and would train harder for the 2020 Paralympic Games.
The team was welcomed by members of the public and the minister of sport, Jerry Ekandjo, at Hosea Kutako International Airport on Wednesday.
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