Shikongo adds to Namibia’s medal table

Namibian sprinter Ananias Shikongo has won a bronze medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games under way in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Shikongo and his guide, Even Tjiviju, ended third in the men’s T11 100-metre race on Sunday, with a regional record of 11.11 seconds.
World record holder David Brown of America and his guide, Jerome Avery, won with a new Paralympic record of 10.99 seconds.
Home favourite Felipe Gomes and his guide, Jonas de Lima Silva, finished second.
Speaking to Nampa after the race, Shikongo said he surprised himself by winning bronze.
“I am really happy that I won a medal in the 100m today. It was a tough race and walking away with a medal shows hard work pays off.
“I only started training for the 100m event two months ago and winning this medal will motivate me to improve on what I did today. My competitors should be ready to see me competing for the bigger medal in 200m because that is my best event and I have trained very hard for that one,” he said.
Tjiviju added that winning a bronze medal is a sign that they have indeed worked hard and they will give it their all when they compete in the 200m heats today at 23:30 Namibian time.
Namibia’s first medal (silver) was won by Johannes Nambala in the men’s T13 100m category on Friday.
Shikongo, who finished seventh at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, said Johanna Benson’s medals led to the Namibian government pumping more money into disability sport.
“It was really tough in the past being a disabled athlete because we never prepared for competitions very well, but since one of our girls won a gold and silver medal in London our government started putting more money into our sport.
“We do not miss out on competitions and we train on time because we have funds for that,” he said.
Credit should also be given to their coaches who encourage them, said the sprinter.
Johanna Benson made it to the T37 400m finals after finishing fourth at 1:10:79 and as the fastest loser.
Benson started off slowly but eventually caught up with the three leading athletes.
She still has the long jump left, as she missed out on the 100m finals on Friday and will not have a chance to defend her 200m medal because she is not competing in the event this year. Elias Ndimulunde could still run the T47 400m dash this Friday. He pulled a hamstring during his 100m race on Saturday and subsequently ended last. The 2015 All Africa Games silver medallist in the 400m said: “I was really disappointed that I got injured while doing my heats yesterday but the doctor has worked magic on my leg because I really feel much better. I feel I can run but I will let it heal completely in the remaining days.”
The team’s physiotherapist, Benny Obermuller, said the athlete has made good progress will be monitored closely ahead of Friday’s event.
Below is today’s schedule for Namibia’s Paralympians (Namibian time):
Tuesday:
Gideon Nasilowski - Swimming (Men’s 50m Freestyle) S3 Heats at 16:46
Johannes Nambala - 400m Heats at 22:30
Ananias Shikongo - 200m Heats at 23:30
Moses Tobias - 200m Heats at 23:30