AN applauds IAAF outcome
Athletics Namibia (AN) has leapt to the defence of local athletes who did not win medals at the IAAF World Championships in London.
Athletics Namibia president Erwin Naimhwaka is urging Namibians to refrain from criticising the Namibian team that competed at the just-ended IAAF World Championships.
The president feels the five marathon athletes who represented Namibia at the global athletics showpiece did the best they could do.
Paulus Iiyambo, Helalia Johannes, Namupala Reonard, Lavinia Haitope and Beata Naigambo all failed to collect medals. Iiyambo and Reonard Namupala finished 35th and 37th respectively, with Iiyambo clocking a time of 2:19:45, while Namupala produced a season's best performance of 2.18:51. Johannes finished 19th at the games in London with a time of 2:26:09, while Haitope and Naigambo finished 50th and 30th with times of 2:44:02 and 2:37:24.
“I think it is about time we start looking at the positive side of things rather than always trying to draw criticism to our athletes.
“Most of these athletes have had very challenging lives and therefore they are trying their best to make a living. “From my side as the president, I do strongly believe that the athletes tried their very best at the championships,” Naimhwaka said.
The president's wish is that Namibia will have more representation at the next world championships.
The country was only represented in the marathon events at the championships. “The marathon athletes have more events to participate in during the season and that is why their chances of qualifying are always high.
“However, the other athletes have limited track-and-field participation during the season.”
The other challenge is the lack of resources.
Naimhwaka felt that Namibia could have had more athletes qualifying to the championships if they had strong financial backing.
“We try our level best to source funds in order to get the athletes to compete at global events. “Moving forward, we will just have to ensure that more athletes are able to have active athletics seasons.”
A total of 205 countries were represented in 26 events at this year's championships. The next IAAF World Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar in September 2019.
JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA
The president feels the five marathon athletes who represented Namibia at the global athletics showpiece did the best they could do.
Paulus Iiyambo, Helalia Johannes, Namupala Reonard, Lavinia Haitope and Beata Naigambo all failed to collect medals. Iiyambo and Reonard Namupala finished 35th and 37th respectively, with Iiyambo clocking a time of 2:19:45, while Namupala produced a season's best performance of 2.18:51. Johannes finished 19th at the games in London with a time of 2:26:09, while Haitope and Naigambo finished 50th and 30th with times of 2:44:02 and 2:37:24.
“I think it is about time we start looking at the positive side of things rather than always trying to draw criticism to our athletes.
“Most of these athletes have had very challenging lives and therefore they are trying their best to make a living. “From my side as the president, I do strongly believe that the athletes tried their very best at the championships,” Naimhwaka said.
The president's wish is that Namibia will have more representation at the next world championships.
The country was only represented in the marathon events at the championships. “The marathon athletes have more events to participate in during the season and that is why their chances of qualifying are always high.
“However, the other athletes have limited track-and-field participation during the season.”
The other challenge is the lack of resources.
Naimhwaka felt that Namibia could have had more athletes qualifying to the championships if they had strong financial backing.
“We try our level best to source funds in order to get the athletes to compete at global events. “Moving forward, we will just have to ensure that more athletes are able to have active athletics seasons.”
A total of 205 countries were represented in 26 events at this year's championships. The next IAAF World Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar in September 2019.
JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA
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