Adored Olympic team returns
The Tokyo Olympic Games are done and dusted; Team Namibia returned home yesterday with fans waiting at the Hosea Kutako International Airport as well as along the parade route to get a glimpse of the stars.
Limba Mupetami
WINDHOEK
A group of four athletes - Olympic silver medallist Christine Mboma, 200m finalist Beatrice Mboma and marathon runners Helalia Johannes and Rainold Thomas – landed in Windhoek yesterday with their coaches Henk Botha and Robert Kaxuxuena after competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The group was welcomed home by jubilant family members, supporters, sportsmen and -women, and government officials.
The star of the show, Mboma, who gave an emotional speech, thanked her family - who travelled from Rundu to welcome her - her coach, various sponsors as well as Namibian fans who have been supporting them throughout their journey.
For the motherland
Staying by Mboma’s side throughout the afternoon, Botha said: “I never asked them for medals or for records, but on the day of the final, I told them to think about the way their performance was uniting the whole country. I told them to run for the country.
“And they did just that. It really hasn’t been easy. I have to acknowledge Johannes and Thomas as well. I have never experienced heat like I did in Tokyo, but they performed tremendously well considering the fact that we were just a small group of people trying to help each other,” he said.
New era
Sport minister Agnes Tjongarero thanked Team Namibia for their performance. “Olympics meant that the many hours you spend training finally bore fruits and as such you were amongst the best in the world in your respective disciplines. When you lined up in your respective heats, vying with others for a place in the next round, please know that you were not alone in those heats. Every Namibian in this vast land of ours was offering a silent prayer on your behalf, that you could emerge victorious and make it to the next round.
“When you did not make it through, although you were disappointed, your countrymen and -women were still immensely proud of you, because Namibia was represented and the whole world knew.
“Namibia might be small in population but we carry a sizeable presence, which was felt all across the world,” she said.
Mboma, Masilingi and Botha received diplomatic passports from the government upon their return.
WINDHOEK
A group of four athletes - Olympic silver medallist Christine Mboma, 200m finalist Beatrice Mboma and marathon runners Helalia Johannes and Rainold Thomas – landed in Windhoek yesterday with their coaches Henk Botha and Robert Kaxuxuena after competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The group was welcomed home by jubilant family members, supporters, sportsmen and -women, and government officials.
The star of the show, Mboma, who gave an emotional speech, thanked her family - who travelled from Rundu to welcome her - her coach, various sponsors as well as Namibian fans who have been supporting them throughout their journey.
For the motherland
Staying by Mboma’s side throughout the afternoon, Botha said: “I never asked them for medals or for records, but on the day of the final, I told them to think about the way their performance was uniting the whole country. I told them to run for the country.
“And they did just that. It really hasn’t been easy. I have to acknowledge Johannes and Thomas as well. I have never experienced heat like I did in Tokyo, but they performed tremendously well considering the fact that we were just a small group of people trying to help each other,” he said.
New era
Sport minister Agnes Tjongarero thanked Team Namibia for their performance. “Olympics meant that the many hours you spend training finally bore fruits and as such you were amongst the best in the world in your respective disciplines. When you lined up in your respective heats, vying with others for a place in the next round, please know that you were not alone in those heats. Every Namibian in this vast land of ours was offering a silent prayer on your behalf, that you could emerge victorious and make it to the next round.
“When you did not make it through, although you were disappointed, your countrymen and -women were still immensely proud of you, because Namibia was represented and the whole world knew.
“Namibia might be small in population but we carry a sizeable presence, which was felt all across the world,” she said.
Mboma, Masilingi and Botha received diplomatic passports from the government upon their return.
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