The Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) will be sending a group of athletes to represent the country at the upcoming Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge that will be held in George, South Africa.

The challenge, which is a unique event for disabled athletes in South Africa, will be staged in the picturesque town of George on 15 October 2022.

The NPC will this year be sending five athletes who will compete against other athletes racing in wheelchairs, adapted bicycles, hand cycles, basketball chairs and ordinary wheelchairs.

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, NPC secretary general Michael Hamukwaya said their team is ready to once again show the world what they are capable of.

“The team is expected to travel on Wednesday but we are still sorting out logistics in terms of finances,” he said, adding that the NPC is currently not in a financial position to send the team but they have communicated with the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund to financially support the team for this trip.

Hamukwaya said the Namibian team will have two wheelchair racers and three hand cyclists.

“We have Roodley Gowaseb and Nico Kharuxab who will be racing in the wheelchair category while Modetsu Simon, Gabriel Nghiihililwa and Lukas Ndahanwapo will compete in the hand cycling event,” Hamukwaya said.

He also stated that since the NPC hosted its cycling event earlier this year with the assistance of Inclusive Cycling, the NPC has set itself a goal to continue increasing its sports codes.

“Lately we have seen interest from athletes in cycling, so we are sending more athletes to different events for this cycle challenge. As NPC we would like to thank Inclusive Cycling from the United States of America who donated one of the hand cycles, and the Run Along Foundation based in Ongwediva who sponsored the NPC with another hand cycle as this has made it easier for our athletes to start cycling,” he said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency