WINDHOEK – A Namibian Invitational Paralympics team of 12 athletes scooped 18 gold medals, five silver and three bronze during the South African National Paralympics Championships held in Stellenbosch last week.
Four of the Namibians broke six South African records while five of them qualified for the Paralympics Games set for Beijing, China in September. Four others received wildcards to the Paralympics.The group flew to South Africa on March 22 to compete in the Nedbank-sponsored championship from March 20 to 28.Host South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho took part in the SA championships that served as qualifiers for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Paralympic Games.Although most Namibian athletes did well, one athlete who stood out was sprinter Martin Aloisius, who won gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m events and at the same time broke the South African records in each of those disciplines.Aloisius, a visually impaired runner, qualified for the Beijing Paralympics in the 400m race and received wildcards for the 100m and 200m events.Another great performance came from visually impaired sprinter Sondaha Namutenya, who also won gold in 100m, 200m and 400m, which also earned her qualification to the Paralympics.Joachim Bohitile, also a visually impaired sprinter, won gold in the 400m and 800m, while he managed silver in the 200m.He won wildcards to the Paralympics in the 200m, 400m and 800m races.Pelgruna Nduma (visually impaired) won gold in the 100m and 200m.Totally blind sprinter Ananias Shikongo won gold and broke the South African record in the 100m and won silver in the 200m and 400m disciplines and received wildcards to the Paralympics for the 100m and 200m events.Johanna Benson won gold in the 100m and 200m in the T37 cerebral palsy category.She slashed the South African 200m record, while her first place in the 100m earned her a place in the Paralympics team for Beijing.Namibia won another gold courtesy of F36 cerebral palsy athlete Reginald Benade in the shotput event and silver in the discus throw.He qualified for the Paralympics with his second place in the discus and for still holding the South African shotput record.Field athlete, David Ndeshenhen, an arm amputee, won gold in the discuss throw, while another arm amputee Simson Gariseb won gold in the 100m and 400m and silver in the 200m races.Wheelchair-bound power lifter Ruben Soroseb, competing in the 100kg category, won a gold medal when he managed to lift 170kg.With his attempt, he also broke the South African record that stood at 162kg.He salso qualified for the Paralympics.Another wildcard was awarded to Francois Beukes (cerebral palsy) for still holding the SA javelin record.He did not participate in javelin this year but won bronze in the shotput and discus events.Epriam Tjiueza (visually impaired) won Namibia’s third bronze medal in the 100m.The only athlete that did not do well is wheelchair-bound Frans ‘Tupac’ Paulus, who participated in the 400m, 800m and 1500m races.Unfortunately, his outdated racing wheelchair was no match for the top-of-the-range wheelchairs used by his competitors.Head coach Michael Hamukwaya told Nampa on Sunday that his athletes did exceptionally well, considering that the team was in camp for one week only.The group received clearance to compete as an invitational team from the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), which also funded their participation.Hamukwaya said that they could not get full national colours because the Namibia Paralympics Committee did not have national trials to select a team.He added that the 12 athletes were originally destined for the All Africa Games in 2007 but were left out due to administrative hitches.Hamukwaya said his team could win a good number of medals at the Paralympic Games if they are properly prepared and equipped.NampaFour others received wildcards to the Paralympics.The group flew to South Africa on March 22 to compete in the Nedbank-sponsored championship from March 20 to 28.Host South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho took part in the SA championships that served as qualifiers for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Paralympic Games.Although most Namibian athletes did well, one athlete who stood out was sprinter Martin Aloisius, who won gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m events and at the same time broke the South African records in each of those disciplines.Aloisius, a visually impaired runner, qualified for the Beijing Paralympics in the 400m race and received wildcards for the 100m and 200m events.Another great performance came from visually impaired sprinter Sondaha Namutenya, who also won gold in 100m, 200m and 400m, which also earned her qualification to the Paralympics.Joachim Bohitile, also a visually impaired sprinter, won gold in the 400m and 800m, while he managed silver in the 200m.He won wildcards to the Paralympics in the 200m, 400m and 800m races.Pelgruna Nduma (visually impaired) won gold in the 100m and 200m.Totally blind sprinter Ananias Shikongo won gold and broke the South African record in the 100m and won silver in the 200m and 400m disciplines and received wildcards to the Paralympics for the 100m and 200m events.Johanna Benson won gold in the 100m and 200m in the T37 cerebral palsy category.She slashed the South African 200m record, while her first place in the 100m earned her a place in the Paralympics team for Beijing.Namibia won another gold courtesy of F36 cerebral palsy athlete Reginald Benade in the shotput event and silver in the discus throw.He qualified for the Paralympics with his second place in the discus and for still holding the South African shotput record.Field athlete, David Ndeshenhen, an arm amputee, won gold in the discuss throw, while another arm amputee Simson Gariseb won gold in the 100m and 400m and silver in the 200m races.Wheelchair-bound power lifter Ruben Soroseb, competing in the 100kg category, won a gold medal when he managed to lift 170kg.With his attempt, he also broke the South African record that stood at 162kg.He salso qualified for the Paralympics.Another wildcard was awarded to Francois Beukes (cerebral palsy) for still holding the SA javelin record.He did not participate in javelin this year but won bronze in the shotput and discus events.Epriam Tjiueza (visually impaired) won Namibia’s third bronze medal in the 100m.The only athlete that did not do well is wheelchair-bound Frans ‘Tupac’ Paulus, who participated in the 400m, 800m and 1500m races.Unfortunately, his outdated racing wheelchair was no match for the top-of-the-range wheelchairs used by his competitors.Head coach Michael Hamukwaya told Nampa on Sunday that his athletes did exceptionally well, considering that the team was in camp for one week only.The group received clearance to compete as an invitational team from the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), which also funded their participation.Hamukwaya said that they could not get full national colours because the Namibia Paralympics Committee did not have national trials to select a team.He added that the 12 athletes were originally destined for the All Africa Games in 2007 but were left out due to administrative hitches.Hamukwaya said his team could win a good number of medals at the Paralympic Games if they are properly prepared and equipped.Nampa
