NAMIBIA is optimistic about securing extra 2020 Paralympic Games slots when the International Paralympic Committee makes the announcement this weekend.
To date, 2 710 slots – which accounts for 62% of qualification slots for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games – have been allocated to 96 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) the IPC announced recently. A further 1 690 slots are still to be awarded for the Games.
The IPC is also set to provide an update on classification for the Paralympics soon, amid fears that many athletes will not have been classified owing to the global health crisis.
“For now, we only have five slots for the country, that is four males for athletics and one female, and the other slot is for a swimmer,” said Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary general Michael Hamukwaya.
The NPC will announce which athletes will represent the country at the Games to be held in Japan from August 24 to September 5 once the number of slots have been determined.
“So, we’re looking forward to getting more slots. We’ll get another list on 6 June [Sunday]. Every country is anxious to see how many more slots they get. According to our ranking, we can expect to get one or two more,” an optimistic Hamukwaya said.
His optimism dissipated somewhat when quizzed about the athletes’ preparations. The Para-athletes are notoriously poorly supported in the lead up to major events despite their continued excellence.
“We have two months left, our wish is to take the team for some competitions overseas just to prepare for the Paralympics,” said Hamukwaya.
“But, we don’t have that funding now and that is the sad part. We’re hoping that we can get [funding] soon, because time is against us.”
Namibia’s Para-athletes have time and again overshadowed their able bodied compatriots at the Olympic events through exceptional performances.
Since discus thrower Reginald Benade’s trailblazing bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, Johanna Benson, Ananias Shikongo and Johannes Nambala have amassed two gold medals, three silvers and three bronzes between them. There were no podium finishes for the able-bodied athletes.
The Rio de Janeiro Olympics delivered Namibia’s best showing at the competition thanks to veteran sprinter Shikongo (gold and two bronze) and Nambala (double silver).
Hamukwaya is at a loss as to why such consistent strong showings fail to attract investors.
“We always deliver. These athletes are proud to represent their country with distinction” he said.
“We’re thankful for NamPower for giving us funding to prepare the team from the beginning of the season, especially within the country,” said Hamukwaya.
“We made sure that our athletes were kept busy with the help of Athletics Namibia competitions where our games were sanctioned by IPC. It looks OK for now, but we still have so much preparation left,” he continued.
“Anybody or company out there willing to support this cause is welcome. NamPower cannot do it alone, they already support the entire disability sport umbrella.”
