Paralympic athlete Ananias Shikongo and his guide, Even Tjiuiju, won Namibia’s only medal at the 2025 India World Para Athletics Championships after finishing second in the men’s T11 100 metres final on Friday.
The 12th edition of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships were concluded at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi yesterday.
It featured more than 1 000 athletes in 186 medal events (101 men’s, 84 women’s, and one mixed relay), which is 15 more than the 2024 edition held in Kobe, Japan.
Shikongo and Tjiuiju clocked a new African record and personal best time of 11.00 seconds to claim the silver medal. They finished narrowly behind Greece’s world record holder, Athanasios Ghavelas, and his guide, Dimitrios Chrysafris, who won gold in 10.96 seconds.
Yesterday, Johanna Benson reached the final of the Women’s 200m T37 after coming third in her heat in a season’s best time of 30.50 seconds. In the final she, however, finished eighth in 31.00 seconds, with Wen Xiaoyan of China winning gold in 26.70 seconds.
Denzel Namene failed to reach the men’s T44 200m final after coming sixth in his heat in a season’s best time of 25.23 seconds.
Shikongo’s medal remains Namibia’s sole success at the championships, where most athletes have struggled to meet expectations. At the previous edition held in Kobe, Japan, Namibia secured a gold medal and a bronze through Chris Kinda (with guide Rivaldo Goagoseb) in the T11 400m and Lahja Ishitile (with guide Sem Shimanda) in the T11 100m.
On that occasion Namibia finished 39th overall in the medal standings, but this year, with only one silver medal, Namibia is tied in 55th position with Angola, Finland, Kuwait and Trinidad and Tobago, who also each collected a single silver.
In an interview shared with the media after the race, Shikongo expressed his happiness at winning a silver medal after having a tough race in the 400m.
“It was not easy, but as for young athletes, they must keep on pushing so that they can one day be successful like me. I am calling on the government to start investing in athletes’ development so that we can have more athletes in the future,” he said. – Nampa
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