OVER 200 Namibian athletes with physical disabilities are undergoing classification for various track and field disciplines ahead of the National Paralympics Championships.
The athletes, who suffer from mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy, are being classified according to the level of their physical disability so as to ensure that all have a fair chance during competition. The championships will be held at the Independence Stadium tomorrow and Saturday.’We are making sure that one athlete does not have an advantage over the other,’ Namibia Paralymipcs Secretary General, Pena Kandjii told The Namibian yesterday about the process being conducted by two South African Paralympics Classifiers. ‘The process is going very well and there is a lot of interest.’We are mainly focusing on the new ones as the elite athletes have already been classified in their categories,’ she said.The athletes will be put in one of five classification categories, ranging from T11- to T 59. They will then further be arranged in the junior or senior section. Kandjii said due to a lack of funding, the par-athletes national meet had been put on hold for the past four years.’Only the Oshana Heroes Club had something earlier this year. We are happy that now at least the athletes will be active. Namibia’s representatives at next month’s Commonwealth games in Delhi are also expected to be part of the competition. Namibia’s paralympians get classified
