Nam low on passion at stellar games

NAMIBIAN athletes fared poorly at the recent inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore, prompting the Head of Mission, Ndelipulwa Hamutumwa, to call for a change in attitude from the athletes.

Hamutumwa said “athletes of other countries were hungry” whereas some of the Namibians needed to “change their attitude and step up to the plate, and develop a serious hunger to win”. He added that that some of his troupes may also have suffered from ‘stage fright’.
“A change in attitude will result in medal returns,” he said.
Of the six athletes representing the Namibian team, only two, wrestler Jason Afrikaner and tri-athlete Abraham Louw, posted satisfactory results. Afrikaner finished a commendable fourth, after losing in the bronze medal contest.
“In view of the fact that he was a wild card, Jason performed extremely well and has potential to become a serious contender in his weight-category in the near future,” said Hamutumwa.
Louw, the country’s best medal hopeful, and “best performer”, was fifth overall in the triathlon competition. Louw is currently ranked number one in Africa.
Hamutumwa said the youngster “remained competitive overall during the race, finishing second in the swimming section.”
“Overall, the games were extremely competitive and very tough on the team, and served as an important reminder that as a country, we need to put more into our preparation for such games. We ensure that Namibia competes at a superior level on the international sport stage.”
Quinton Deli posted seventh and eight positions in the 50m and 100m freestyle swimming events respectively, with Anica Profitt, ranked 18th overall, after scoring 73,100 points in the four different Gymnastic apparatus.
On the track, Ndapandula Nginaunye ended ninth with a time of 10:04: 53 in the 3000m heat, and later finished eigth with a time of 10:08: 62 in the final.
Julia Handyene was 10th with a time of 03:04: 29 in the 1000m heat and finished ninth with a time of 03:00:52 in the final race.

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