Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary-general, Michael Hamukwaya said Namibian Para athletes’ performance at their first international competition for 2022 showed that more investment is needed for younger athletes to take over the reins.
The NPC had six athletes and a guide competing at the maiden edition of the Winelands International Championships held in Stellenbosch, South Africa on Saturday.
In an interview with Nampa on Saturday, Hamukwaya said the one-day international event was very good for athletes to compete in as it will motivate them to push hard in their upcoming events.
“Bradley Murere did well in the long jump where he jumped his personal best as well as ran a great time in the 100 metres (m) while Chris Kinda also did well in the 100m, 200m and 400m events,” he said.
The coach added that Johanna Benson is not at her optimal best, illustrating that more work is needed and that NPC will need to host a training camp that will see all the athletes going through proper nutrition, strength and conditioning exercises.
“Johanna qualified to the final of her 100m event and this should be good motivation for her to continue pushing herself. Martha Hitekalute did not do well in her event. We know this was her first international event as a sprinter but it showed us we need to push her more. Roodly Gowaseb did well in his wheelchair race despite not clocking the times we want, however his technique was much improved compared to the past,” said Hamukwaya.
The NPC secretary-general added that for athletes to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, they must be in the top eight rankings of the International Paralympic Committee at the end of May 2022 – which is not easy to achieve if athletes are not competing.
“The qualifying period for the Commonwealth Games will come to an end at the end of May. Athletes that are not in the top eight from the Commonwealth countries will then miss out, therefore the athletes whose classifications are allowed to compete at these games need to give it their all in the upcoming months,” he noted.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
