Five Namibian wheelchair racers on Saturday won four medals for the country at the Outeniqua Chair Challenge (OCC) held in George, South Africa.
The wheelchair challenge, a unique event for disabled athletes in South Africa, saw athletes from as far as Namibia and Zimbabwe challenging for silverware in the mountainous town.
The Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) sent five athletes to compete against other athletes racing in wheelchairs, adapted bicycles, hand cycles, basketball chairs and ordinary wheelchairs.
Gabriel Nghiishililwa, Modestu Simon and Lukas Ndahangwapo competed in the hand cycling event while Roodley Gowaseb and Nico Kharuxab competed in the wheelchair category.
Namibia’s medals came from Ndahangwapo who won a bronze in the 41km hand cycling and Gowaseb walking away with a silver medal in the 41km wheelchair race. Kharuxab and Simon won gold medals in the 21km wheelchair and hand cycling events respectively.
The only athlete who missed out on a medal was Ngiishililwa who finished fourth in the 41km hand cycling race.
For winning medals in their respective categories, the athletes walked away with prize monies ranging from N.dollars 7 000 to N.dollars 1 500.
In an interview with Nampa after the race, Gowaseb said his goal was to race a London marathon time but due to weather conditions that was not possible.
“The track we raced on suited me well but due to the rainy conditions I struggled with grip and could not race the time I had planned. I will try again as my goal is to qualify for one of those big marathons as well as represent my country at the Paralympics,” he said.
Meanwhile Michael Hamukwaya, the secretary general of the NPC said the OCC was good exposure for the racers.
“The NPC is still struggling with equipment. We also want to have female athletes representing the country at these races,” he said, adding that the federation needs wheelchairs and the one currently in use is in need of servicing.
Hamukwaya stated that the cycling team is growing and the NPC continues to struggle with transportation.
“The NPC needs a car that has a trailer. This will allow athletes to travel early for competitions and comfortably, not having chairs and athletes arranged in the same bus which we do most of the time,” said Hamukwaya.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
