Namibia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Namibia at the
2016 Summer Paralympics
IPC code NAM
NPC Namibia National Paralympic Committee
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors 10 in 3 sports
Flag bearer Johanna Benson
Medals
Ranked 53rd
Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 2 2 5
Summer Paralympics appearances

Namibia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.

The Team

Prior to the team leaving for Rio, they visited the Namibia Sport Commission.[1] The team departed for Rio on August 29.[1] The team included 9 athletes, 4 guides and 7 officials.[1] The team's Chef de Mission was Nicklaus Nghumoono. The team manager was Iitwayi Johannes. The team administrator was Memory Kahlari.[1] The flag bearer was Johanna Benson. Benson won the country's first Paralympic gold and silver medal.[2]

Funding and support

The Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service in Namibia was expected to fund several intensive training camps in preparation for Rio. The Paralympic movement in the country is largely dependent on the government for financial and other support, as the private sector has not contributed much to Paralympic sportspeople's efforts.[3] Additional private funding for the national team came from Coca-Cola, Seaflower and Miss Namibia 2015.[1] Athlete Ananias Shikongo raised funds through a personal crowd funding campaign to finance his preparation.

Promotional events to support Paralympic efforts were scheduled to take place around the country in the lead up to Rio.[3]

Disability classifications

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.[4][5] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.[6]

Medallists

Namibia finished seventh among all African countries on the gold medal table with 1 gold. They had 2 silvers and 2 bronzes to finish with 5 total medals.[7]

Medal Name Sport Event Date
 Gold Ananias Shikongo
(Guide – Even Tjiviju) 		Athletics Men’s 200 m T11 15 September
 Silver Johannes Nambala Athletics Men’s 100 m T13 9 September
 Silver Johannes Nambala Athletics Men’s 400 m T13 15 September
 Bronze Ananias Shikongo
(Guide – Even Tjiviju) 		Athletics Men’s 100 m T11 11 September
 Bronze Ananias Shikongo
(Guide – Sam Shimanda) 		Athletics Men’s 400 m T11 17 September

Athletics

One of the major target sports for Namibia to qualify for the Rio Paralympics was athletics. Athletes prepped for qualification and potential inclusion on the 2016 Games team by competing in the 2015 All African Games. Athletes the expected by Namibia Paralympics Committee to qualify for Rio included Lahja Ishitile, a bronze medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Johannes Nambala, who won a gold medal in the men's T13 400m at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, and visually impaired short distance runner Ananias Shikongo.[3]

Lahja Ishitile, Johannes Nambala, Elias Ndimulunde, Rosa Manjoro, Ananias Shikongo, Reginald Benade, and Martin Aloysius all attended the 2015 All African Games and the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships as part of Rio qualification efforts.[3]

Johanna Benson was a member of the Rio team, scheduled to compete in the T37 100m, 400m and long jump events. Benson had won her country's first ever Paralympic gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[1] Johannes Nambala was selected for the team after becoming the world champion in the T13 200m event.[1] Ananias Shikongo was also selected for the Rio Games. He won 3 gold medals at the All African Games. Lahja Ishitile was selected to Rio after having medaled at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Martin Aloysius was selected to compete in the T12 400 meters. Elias Ndimulunde was scheduled to compete in the T46 100m and 400m events. Moses Tobias was scheduled to compete in the T11 100m and 400m events.[1] The guides for athletics included Sam Shimanda, David Ndeilenge, Even Tjiviju and Andre Oberholster.[1][2] The Rio team was coached by Michael Hamukwaya, with Ivon Perez serving as the assistant coach.[1][2]

Men
Track
Athlete Events Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Ananias Shikongo
(Guide – Even Tjiviju)
(Guide – Sam Shimanda)		 100 m T11 11.17 1 Q 11.23 1 Q 11.11 3rd, bronze medalist(s)
200 m T11 22.93 1 Q 22.48 1 Q 22.44 1st, gold medalist(s)
400 m T11 50.85 2 Q N/A 50.63 3rd, bronze medalist(s)
Johannes Nambala 100 m T13 10.81 2 Q N/A 10.78 2nd, silver medalist(s)
400 m T13 49.01 2 Q N/A 47.21 2nd, silver medalist(s)
Elias Ndimulunde 100 m T45-47 12.68 7 N/A Did not advance
400 m T45-47 DNS Did not advance
Martin Aloisius 400 m T12 Disqualified Did not advance
Moses Tobias
(Guide - Andre Oberholster)		 200 m T11 24.17 4 Did not advance
Moses Tobias
(Guide - Andre Oberholster)
Martin Aloisius
Johannes Nambala
Ananias Shikongo
(Guide – Even Tjiviju)		 4x 100 m T11-13 43.49 2 Q N/A 43.66 4
Field
Athlete Events Result Rank
Martin Aloisius Long Jump F12 6.38 11
Women
Track
Athlete Events Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Lahja Ishitile
(Guide – David Ndeilenga)
(Guide – Sam Shimanda)		 100 m T11 12.59 2 Q 12.56 4 Did not advance
200 m T11 25,61 2 Q 25,37 3 Did not advance
400 m T11 58.97 2 N/A Did not advance
Johanna Benson 100 m T37 14.23 3 Q N/A 14.16 7
400 m T37 1:10.79 4 q N/A 1:12.35 8

Field

Athlete Events Result Rank
Johanna Benson Long Jump T37 3.61 m 6

Powerlifting

Ruben Soroseb

Ruben Soroseb was part of the Namibia delegation in Rio, competing in powerlifting.[1][2] The national team coach was Ndamian Ndengu.[1]

Athlete Events Result Rank
Ruben Soroseb Weight class -107kg 190 kg 9

Swimming

Gideon Nasilowski was part of the Namibia delegation in Rio, competing in swimming. [1][2] The swimming team manager was Sonia Lindemeier.[1]

Athlete Events Heats Final
Time Rank Time Rank
Gideon Nasilowski 50 m Freestyle S3 1:38.21 11 Did not advance

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Schutz, Helge (August 24, 2016). "Paralympian stars out to restore Namibian pride". The Namibian. The Namibian. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Corporation, New Era Publication (August 24, 2016). "Para-athletes get spirited send-off to Rio". New Era Newspaper Namibia. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Namibian paralympians kick-off preps for Rio 2016". The Southern Times. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Paralympics categories explained". ABC. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Making sense of the categories". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "A-Z of Paralympic classification". BBC Sport. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Nigeria are Africa's best at Paralympics | KweséSports.com". Kwese Sports. 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
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