NNPC athletes win medals in SA
Despite using old equipment, the Namibian team has won gold and silver medals at a challenging South African para-cycling event.
The Namibia National Paralympic Committee (NNPC) wheelchair and hand cycling team won a gold and silver medals at the Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge in George, South Africa on Sunday.
Five local cyclists, Frans Paulus, Matias Kamenye, Rodney Gowaseb, Mitch Dewalt and Sebastian Joseph, competed in the 42.2km and 21km hand cycling and wheelchair events. On Sunday morning Gowaseb, who competed in the 21km wheelchair racing event, won gold for Namibia after finishing first in his category, while Matias, who competed in the 21km hand cycling event, finished second and secured a silver medal. Paulus, better known as Two-Pac, finished fifth in the 42.2 km hand cycling event, while Joseph and Dewalt, who competed in the 21km hand cycling event, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Namibian team used the championship to help improve their world ranking, so that they stand a better chance of qualifying for para-cycling events during the vigorous qualification campaign ahead of the 2020 Paralympic Games.
Speaking to Nampa on Sunday, NNPC Secretary-General and coach, Michael Hamukwaya, said the race took place on a very challenging course, for the first time, because the championship organisers had worked on improving the athletes' cycling times.
He added that aside from the challenging course, the Namibian athletes found it hard to compete, due to the cycles they used.
“Most of our athletes are still using old tyres and outdated wheelchair bicycles, which makes it challenging to maintain a competitive mode against athletes who have the latest equipment on the market,” he said.
Hamukwaya said that despite using old equipment, the Namibian athletes were not intimidated, as they competed with courage and did very well for the country.
South Africa, Ghana, Namibia and Zimbabwe all competed in the event that attracted more than 1 000 athletes.
NAMPA
Five local cyclists, Frans Paulus, Matias Kamenye, Rodney Gowaseb, Mitch Dewalt and Sebastian Joseph, competed in the 42.2km and 21km hand cycling and wheelchair events. On Sunday morning Gowaseb, who competed in the 21km wheelchair racing event, won gold for Namibia after finishing first in his category, while Matias, who competed in the 21km hand cycling event, finished second and secured a silver medal. Paulus, better known as Two-Pac, finished fifth in the 42.2 km hand cycling event, while Joseph and Dewalt, who competed in the 21km hand cycling event, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Namibian team used the championship to help improve their world ranking, so that they stand a better chance of qualifying for para-cycling events during the vigorous qualification campaign ahead of the 2020 Paralympic Games.
Speaking to Nampa on Sunday, NNPC Secretary-General and coach, Michael Hamukwaya, said the race took place on a very challenging course, for the first time, because the championship organisers had worked on improving the athletes' cycling times.
He added that aside from the challenging course, the Namibian athletes found it hard to compete, due to the cycles they used.
“Most of our athletes are still using old tyres and outdated wheelchair bicycles, which makes it challenging to maintain a competitive mode against athletes who have the latest equipment on the market,” he said.
Hamukwaya said that despite using old equipment, the Namibian athletes were not intimidated, as they competed with courage and did very well for the country.
South Africa, Ghana, Namibia and Zimbabwe all competed in the event that attracted more than 1 000 athletes.
NAMPA
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