Gowaseb and Kamenye bag silver in South-Africa
The Namibia Paralympic Committee is pleased with the performance of its para-cycling team and is prepared to expose the team to more events.
Namibian Para-cyclists Roodly Gowaseb and Matias Kamenya won silver medals at the Outeniqua wheelchair challenge in George, South Africa, over the weekend.
Gowaseb competed in the 21km T53 race, while Kamenya was in the T54 category. They finished second, winning silver medals and cash prizes of N$1 500.
Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary-general and coach Michael Hamukwaya said the third cyclist, Frans Paulus, did not finish because of a mechanical problem he encountered.
“The guys did very well. It was Gowaseb's first race so it was exciting for him to come second. Paulus did not finish as he had some mechanical problem and in his second lap the bike could not go any further so he had to withdraw, but the other two did very well,” he said.
This being their first competition of the year, Hamukwaya said it was good motivation for the cyclists and it was just a matter of giving the athletes a chance to compete in different competitions.
“At least now they got a chance and we have seen that they can put it out there so from here it is just to put all our resources together and make sure that these guys take part in more competitions and give them more opportunities both locally and internationally.”
He said the cyclists were motivated by seeing other athletes and wanted to continue with the sport and move to the highest level.
He maintained that this was just the beginning. “We feel that the sport is growing as we only had one cyclist and now we have three, so the sky is the limit for para-cycling.
“This is a good injection for us to send them to that event and it is now up to them to work hard. We will try to give them more opportunities and see them qualify for major competitions,” he said.
The Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge is a race exclusively for disabled athletes and has been staged successfully for the past six years.
Athletes compete in hand-wheelchair cycling over 45 kilometres, and racing with sport wheelchairs over 41km, 21km or 10km.
KAINO NGHITONGO
Gowaseb competed in the 21km T53 race, while Kamenya was in the T54 category. They finished second, winning silver medals and cash prizes of N$1 500.
Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary-general and coach Michael Hamukwaya said the third cyclist, Frans Paulus, did not finish because of a mechanical problem he encountered.
“The guys did very well. It was Gowaseb's first race so it was exciting for him to come second. Paulus did not finish as he had some mechanical problem and in his second lap the bike could not go any further so he had to withdraw, but the other two did very well,” he said.
This being their first competition of the year, Hamukwaya said it was good motivation for the cyclists and it was just a matter of giving the athletes a chance to compete in different competitions.
“At least now they got a chance and we have seen that they can put it out there so from here it is just to put all our resources together and make sure that these guys take part in more competitions and give them more opportunities both locally and internationally.”
He said the cyclists were motivated by seeing other athletes and wanted to continue with the sport and move to the highest level.
He maintained that this was just the beginning. “We feel that the sport is growing as we only had one cyclist and now we have three, so the sky is the limit for para-cycling.
“This is a good injection for us to send them to that event and it is now up to them to work hard. We will try to give them more opportunities and see them qualify for major competitions,” he said.
The Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge is a race exclusively for disabled athletes and has been staged successfully for the past six years.
Athletes compete in hand-wheelchair cycling over 45 kilometres, and racing with sport wheelchairs over 41km, 21km or 10km.
KAINO NGHITONGO
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