RIO DE JANEIRO – Namibian sprinter Ananias Shikongo won a bronze medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Shikongo and his guide Even Tjiviju ended third in the men’s T11, 100 metre category on Sunday with a regional record of 11,11 seconds.
World record holder David Brown of America and his guide Jerome Avery won with a new Paralympic record of 10,99 seconds.
Home favourite Felipe Gomes and his guide Jonas de Lima Silva finished second.
Speaking to Nampa after the race, Shikongo said he surprised himself by winning bronze.
“I am really happy that I won a medal in the 100m today. It was a tough race and walking away with a medal shows hard work pays off.
“I only started training for the 100m event two months ago and winning this medal will motivate me to improve on what I did today. My competitors should be ready to see me competing for the bigger medal in the 200m because that is my best event and I have trained very hard for that one,” he said.
Tjiviju added that winning a bronze medal is a sign that they had worked hard and will give it their all when they compete in the 200m heats on Tuesday at 23h30 Namibian time.
Namibia’s first medal (silver) was won by Johannes Nambala in the men’s T13, 100m category on Friday.
Nine athletes are representing Namibia at this year’s games in athletics, swimming and powerlifting.
The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Team Namibia returned with two medals from the 2012 Paralympic Games held in London – one gold and one silver, both won by Johanna Benson. – Nampa
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