World Champs beckon for Para-athletes

Namibian Para-athletes are finalising their training sessions ahead of the upcoming International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships. The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar, from October 22 to 31. Namibian Paralympics Committee (NPC) Secretary-General Michael Hamukwaya told Namibian Sun that the athletes have been doing individual training and will join a training camp this weekend. He said the athletes have been doing well on their own. “The team is ready and just doing the final touch-ups for the training; they will all enter a training camp this weekend. Then we do concentrated training with all the athletes, so next week is very important for us because we are doing the final roundup,” he said. Hamukwaya said all the athletes are excited and positive ahead of the games, and are looking forward to competing against the world’s best. “They know what they are expecting because they are going to compete against the world’s best who are full-time athletes, so they know that it will not be a walkover,” he said, adding that they will pool together resources at their exposure to fully prepare the athletes. He said the weather might be a bit of a challenge for them but they will see how to cope and adjust as they will be there for four days before the games start. “Some of the people have already been there to get used to the weather because Doha is hot and we will only be there four days before the competition kicks off, so that will be a bit of a challenge because the body needs to get used to the weather, but we are positive that we are going there to give our best,” he said. Hamukwaya said they are not promising to bring home medals like those who participated in the All-Africa Games (AAG), where Namibia won 14 medals. He said the AAG came at the right time to serve as preparation for the Doha games, and helped the NPC see where athletes stand before the World Championships. Gold medallist in the T11 100, 200 and 400m Ananias Shikongo said he wants to show the world that he is ready for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He said training has been going well, but a lack of transport to take athletes to the Independence Stadium remains a challenge. “I think it is a bit late that we did not yet start training on a track field and looking at the way we performed at the AAG, we were supposed to start immediately when we came back home,” he said, adding that at the moment he is training at the Katutura Youth Complex. Shikongo said the IPC World Championships are important for him to show the world how ready he is for the Olympic Games. “I am going to show the world that I am ready for the Olympic Games because I have already shown the rest of Africa that I am ready so now I am going to face the world,” he beamed. Other athletes who will travel to Doha are T37 100 and 200m sprinter Johanna Benson; and T11 100 and 200m sprinter Lahja Ishitile, who will be making her debut at the championships. At the 2013 IPC World Championships in Lyon, Shikongo won silver in the T11 100m, while Benson won bronze in the T37 100m and 200m events at the 2013 World Athletics Championships. At the same World Championships in Lyon, France in 2013, Namibia won one gold, two silver and four bronze medals. KAINO NGHITONGO