Athletes gearing up for Paralympics

WHILE the focus is on the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece later this year, there is a special group of Namibian athletes preparing for the Olympics of a different kind – the Paralympics.

Namibia would send seven athletes to the Summer Olympics scheduled for August 13 to 29 and hopefully also another trio of paraplegic sportsmen to the Paralympics which will also take place in Athens from September 17 to 26. The three paralympians, Ruben Soroseb, Simson Gariseb and Francois Beukes will make history by being the first Namibians to compete at the Paralympics.Soroseb is a class F58 athlete who uses a wheelchair or crutches for mobility and will take part in power lifting.Gariseb is a class T46 athlete and does not have any use of his arms.He will take part in 100m sprint, while Beukes, a javelin thrower, is a F38 whose one leg is shorter than the other.The three athletes qualified for the Paralympics during the 2003 Namibia National Championship for People with Disabilities.According to the President of the Federation for Sports for the Disabled, Tsire Tsauseb, the trio did exceptionally well to qualify for the Paralympics as they do not have professional coaches at all and made the qualification standards through their talent and commitment.Tsauseb, however, said they still need to apply to the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) for participation in the Games.Although it is the first time in the history of Paralympic Games that paraplegic athletes will not have to pay for their participation, the athletes still need pocket money to make their involvement a memorable one, said Tsauseb.The Paralympic Games are part and parcel of the Olympic Games and are held by the Olympic Host Country, following the Olympic Games and have been held every Olympic year since 1960.Meanwhile, preparations for the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games are entering the home straight.The Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games will take place on 17 September at the Athens Olympic Stadium for what is the greatest sporting event in the world, in size and importance, for persons with disabilities.Athens will host 4000 athletes, 3000 Media representatives, 1000 technical officials, 2000 team escorts, and roughly 2500 official guests for the Paralympics.This means the 2004 Paralympic Games will be the biggest ever held, in terms of participants.While in the previous Paralympics in Sydney, Australia (2000) only 123 nations took part, this year some 140 countries have already declared their intention to participate.In addition, there will be about 35,000 people working for the Paralympic Games.Of these, 15,000 will be volunteers.The Games programme includes 19 sports, 14 of these (Wheelchair Tennis, Table Tennis, Riding, Sailing, Wheelchair Basketball, Swimming, Wheelchair Fencing, Volleyball (Sitting), Cycling, Football 5-a-side and 7-a-side, Shooting, Athletics, Judo and Archery) are equivalent to those in the Olympic Games.Four are exclusively Paralympic sports: (Boccia, Goalball, Weightlifting, Power lifting, and Wheelchair Rugby).The Namibians leave on September 14.- NampaThe three paralympians, Ruben Soroseb, Simson Gariseb and Francois Beukes will make history by being the first Namibians to compete at the Paralympics.Soroseb is a class F58 athlete who uses a wheelchair or crutches for mobility and will take part in power lifting.Gariseb is a class T46 athlete and does not have any use of his arms.He will take part in 100m sprint, while Beukes, a javelin thrower, is a F38 whose one leg is shorter than the other.The three athletes qualified for the Paralympics during the 2003 Namibia National Championship for People with Disabilities.According to the President of the Federation for Sports for the Disabled, Tsire Tsauseb, the trio did exceptionally well to qualify for the Paralympics as they do not have professional coaches at all and made the qualification standards through their talent and commitment.Tsauseb, however, said they still need to apply to the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) for participation in the Games.Although it is the first time in the history of Paralympic Games that paraplegic athletes will not have to pay for their participation, the athletes still need pocket money to make their involvement a memorable one, said Tsauseb.The Paralympic Games are part and parcel of the Olympic Games and are held by the Olympic Host Country, following the Olympic Games and have been held every Olympic year since 1960.Meanwhile, preparations for the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games are entering the home straight.The Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games will take place on 17 September at the Athens Olympic Stadium for what is the greatest sporting event in the world, in size and importance, for persons with disabilities.Athens will host 4000 athletes, 3000 Media representatives, 1000 technical officials, 2000 team escorts, and roughly 2500 official guests for the Paralympics.This means the 2004 Paralympic Games will be the biggest ever held, in terms of participants.While in the previous Paralympics in Sydney, Australia (2000) only 123 nations took part, this year some 140 countries have already declared their intention to participate.In addition, there will be about 35,000 people working for the Paralympic Games.Of these, 15,000 will be volunteers.The Games programme includes 19 sports, 14 of these (Wheelchair Tennis, Table Tennis, Riding, Sailing, Wheelchair Basketball, Swimming, Wheelchair Fencing, Volleyball (Sitting), Cycling, Football 5-a-side and 7-a-side, Shooting, Athletics, Judo and Archery) are equivalent to those in the Olympic Games.Four are exclusively Paralympic sports: (Boccia, Goalball, Weightlifting, Power lifting, and Wheelchair Rugby).The Namibians leave on September 14.- Nampa