From the Sidelines: Medals wanted from Games

THE Namibian delegation for the All Africa Games will depart tomorrow morning to Algeria with high expectations, but what are the chances for medals this time around? Well, there are a few individuals who can compete favourably at the Games which are set to attract over 3 000 athletes, but are these teams and individuals well prepared for the Games? The sports authorities and officials of the various codes confirmed that the preparations of the athletes went well over the past few months.

This is Africa’s biggest showpiece, which takes place every fourth year and with Namibia being active competitors since 1991, there should be hope for medals. If one looks at the calibre of some sportsmen and women who will be fighting for honours, one can say that there will be medals coming back home.In the past, proper preparations hampered the performance of the athletes, with some not having enough exposure on the international scene, while some simply failed to complete what they had gone there for.There were also athletes in the past who were misinformed about the starting times of their races or disciplines, while some pulled out ahead of these events.All of these problems were blamed on poor preparations and lack of coordination of information for the athletes.The Minister of Sport John Mutorwa has been supportive of the progress made by the various teams and now it will be up to these athletes and officials to make it happen in Algeria.There will be strong competition from most of the countries which will compete at the Games, with South Africa and Egypt set to pose a serious challenge in terms of raking in as many medals as possible.For Namibia, there are several athletes that can be singled out and who stand a good chance of bringing home the gold.Namibia has a fairly competitive boxing team, which will be led by Japhet Uutoni who surprised all when he won a gold medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Australia.Uutoni is Namibia’s biggest medal hopeful, while middle distance runner Agnes Samaria needs to show that she is among the best in Africa.Samaria who has been running on the international circuit in her recent races, needs to stand up and be counted as one of the best middle distance runners in the country and a place in the first three should be a must.The Namibian swimmers are relatively young and their chances will be determined by consistently swimming within the times they have set in national championships and the competitions they were part of abroad.This will be an opener for many of the young swimmers as they will also be setting their sights on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China next year.It will be tough for the swimmers, but it will be good if most of them at least reach the final stages of the competition.Namibia also has a team of shooters, which will be led by Boelie Malherbe as the coach, and their chances will depend on how they take on the opposition, with South Africa once again expected to be the strongest opposition.For the first time, Namibia will also send a team of chess players to the Games.Most of the chess players are experienced and have shown domestically that they can compete favourably.It will be a good test for especially national champion Charles Eichab and Werner Tjipueja who have been around in the game for some time now.The cycling team stands a good chance of making it into the top grades as they have been consistently racing on the international arena and with their fitness now at the peak, they will be likely contenders for medals.There is no doubt that from those competing at the Games, at least more than three medals are expected.It will be tough for most of them as they will represent the country for the first time at such an event, but it will be good for them, especially the younger ones to be exposed to the harsh conditions of competing at that level.For the athletes that have already competed at the top level such as Samaria, Uutoni, cyclist Erik Hoffmann and long distance runner Hilaria Johannes, nothing short of at least a bronze medal will be required from them.Namibia has not been one of the dominant countries on the international sporting front, but the All Africa Games is a platform for our athletes to prove themselves and show that they are serious about the sports they are doing.If one looks at the calibre of some sportsmen and women who will be fighting for honours, one can say that there will be medals coming back home.In the past, proper preparations hampered the performance of the athletes, with some not having enough exposure on the international scene, while some simply failed to complete what they had gone there for.There were also athletes in the past who were misinformed about the starting times of their races or disciplines, while some pulled out ahead of these events.All of these problems were blamed on poor preparations and lack of coordination of information for the athletes.The Minister of Sport John Mutorwa has been supportive of the progress made by the various teams and now it will be up to these athletes and officials to make it happen in Algeria.There will be strong competition from most of the countries which will compete at the Games, with South Africa and Egypt set to pose a serious challenge in terms of raking in as many medals as possible.For Namibia, there are several athletes that can be singled out and who stand a good chance of bringing home the gold.Namibia has a fairly competitive boxing team, which will be led by Japhet Uutoni who surprised all when he won a gold medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Australia.Uutoni is Namibia’s biggest medal hopeful, while middle distance runner Agnes Samaria needs to show that she is among the best in Africa.Samaria who has been running on the international circuit in her recent races, needs to stand up and be counted as one of the best middle distance runners in the country and a place in the first three should be a must.The Namibian swimmers are relatively young and their chances will be determined by consistently swimming within the times they have set in national championships and the competitions they were part of abroad.This will be an opener for many of the young swimmers as they will also be setting their sights on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China next year.It will be tough for the swimmers, but it will be good if most of them at least reach the final stages of the competition.Namibia also has a team of shooters, which will be led by Boelie Malherbe as the coach, and their chances will depend on how they take on the opposition, with South Africa once again expected to be the strongest opposition.For the first time, Namibia will also send a team of chess players to the Games.Most of the chess players are experienced and have shown domestically that they can compete favourably.It will be a good test for especially national champion Charles Eichab and Werner Tjipueja who have been around in the game for some time now.The cycling team stands a good chance of making it into the top grades as they have been consistently racing on the international arena and with their fitness now at the peak, they will be likely contenders for medals.There is no doubt that from those competing at the Games, at least more than three medals are expected.It will be tough for most of them as they will represent the country for the first time at such an event, but it will be good for them, especially the younger ones to be exposed to the harsh conditions of competing at that level.For the athletes that have already competed at the top level such as Samaria, Uutoni, cyclist Erik Hoffmann and long distance runner Hilaria Johannes, nothing short of at least a bronze medal will be required from them.Namibia has not been one of the dominant countries on the international sporting front, but the All Africa Games is a platform for our athletes to prove themselves and show that they are serious about the sports they are doing.