HELALIA Johannes intends to use her delayed reward for winning the 2018 Commonwealth Games marathon at Australia’s Gold Coast to prepare for more success.
Along with amateur boxer Jonas Junias Jonas, who also bagged gold Down Under, she received N$80 000 for her historic feat as the first Namibian woman to win a Commonwealth gold medal. Their coaches, Robert Kaxuxuena and Patrick Kasheela, both received N$30 000 for illuminating the country’s stars on the international audience.
Jonas emulated Johannes’ husband Japhet Uutoni, who also won boxing gold during the 2006 edition. While they both won the best male and female prizes at the national awards last October, Johannes and Jonas were surprisingly beaten to the prestigious MTC Sports Star of the Year by golf protege Likius Nande.
But at no point after that turn of events or her Gold Coast exploits did Johannes rest on her laurels. The veteran road runner carried her rich vein of form into 2019, breaking the 10km national record three times in South Africa.
“It’s been a long time that we’ve waited for this reward. It did not bring me down, so to say ‘no I cannot train any more because we won and we did not get anything like we were told’,” she told reporters during the meritorious reward ceremony at the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC)’s headquarters on Wednesday.
“I was focused, and I knew that one day we are going to be rewarded. That’s why you see that from the beginning of the year, I’ve been running well and breaking records.
“I’m still going to do well. I can see that our government’s eyes are on us. Thank you very much for this reward,” she said.
The 38 year-old’s primary focus at the moment is a successful tilt at the African Games in Rabat, Morocco next month. To that end, the cash reward is timely, and will partly fund her tune-up, which includes an imminent trip to Colombia.
“I know that this is going to help me a lot. When we do sports, we use a lot of money to keep us on track. Without money, you cannot perform well,” added Johannes.
“We need to buy running shoes, supplements, and eat well. I’m going to buy all that. And apart from that, I’m going to do some business to help myself in future when I retire,” she explained.
“I’m also going to help my fellow athletes, especially those who push me whenever I’m training for an event. I did not do it alone. I have a bunch of people who pushed me to be able to achieve these good results.”
The reward figures are in line with the new Cabinet-endorsed rewards policy, which is yet to be commissioned, said NSC chief administrator Freddy Simataa Mwiya.
“This is indeed remarkable for the government to reward your achievement to encourage sporting excellence. Yes, we were guided by the reward policy, even though it is awaiting our principals with regard to budgeting before it can be implemented,” Mwiya said.
Deputy director of Marginalised People and Women in Sports, Jo-Ann Manuel challenged other athletes to scale the Commonwealth champions’ heights.
“The reward is long-overdue, but finally we got some cents to reward you. I hope you’ll do the business at the African Games. The Olympics in Tokyo are also just a year away, and we’re sure you are going to do us proud,” she said.
“This [reward] in itself is a message to other athletes to never give up, and to persevere. So, keep working hard, and one day it will pay off. It takes time before you get to this [Johannes and Jonas’] level. Also, this shows that sports is a career path which can lead to good living,” Manuel encouraged.
