THE Windhoek Central Pistol Club participated as an invitational team at the annual provincial shooting championship of the Western Province in Cape Town from October 11 to 13.
The three marksmen from Namibia were Boellie Malherbe, Michael Bartlewski and Michael Jaeger. They were accompanied by Namibia’s shooting legend Friedhelm Sack, who was the coach and team manager. It was an astonishing experience as all three athletes performed exceptionally well over the three competition days. Malherbe dominated his class and came home with five gold and two bronze medals. Bartlewski returned with three golds and as many silvers while Jaeger claimed six gold medals and a silver. With the highest score and a total of 14 gold medals Namibia won six of the seven team events. Jaeger, who is the chairman of the Namibian Pistol Association, said ‘Namibia’s three new musketeers’ had done the country proud. ‘It was unfortunate that Andreas Doepke could not join the team as he is also a very strong contender to win medals,’ he added. The Namibian Pistol Association is considering sending a team to the the African Shooting Championships in Cairo, Egypt, next year. This event, the biggest for Africa, is also a qualifying event for the next Olympics. ‘With the talent and dedication shown by the Namibia shooters lately, qualifying for the Olympics is possible,’ said Jaeger.
