Two boys, two bikes
Two young Namibians are making waves in their respective sport codes, both of which involve bicycles.
From a young age, every child would want to try out different sport types and codes and Sport Wrap spotted two young men who have bigger dreams for the codes they have chosen to compete in.
The 17-year-old Mocks Mbako trades between different sport codes and still manages to excel in all of them, as he recently won the Nedbank cycle challenge 24km, after having won bronze already in 2015 in addition to his athletics medals and a medal for football.
A huge fan of football, Mbako also plies his trade in athletics, specialising in short distances.
“I am a soccer player and I was on the team at my previous school but my current school does not yet have a soccer team.
“I do athletics, specialising in short distance running of 100m and 200m and I have qualified to take part in the regional athletics which will take place during the weekend of 24 and 25 March in Swakopmund,” he says.
He added that his love for football come from way back when his late father would take him along to matches.
Now also a cyclist, Mbako said he started cycling professionally with Physically Active Youth (PAY) Namibia in 2015.
“My mother took me to the centre for extra classes in the afternoon, which is when I found out that there is a team of young ones that were part of cycling team. After having done my homework, I joined them to assist in repairing their bicycles, watch them and just admire them as they go around with their bicycles.
“I then got an old bicycle from a friend and started cycling and later I was also enrolled as one of the cyclists with PAY,” he said.
In 2015, he won two medals, a bronze in the Nedbank Cycle Challenge and a silver in the Windhoek Pedal Power.
He said 2016 was however good for him as he did not have a bike and was not part of PAY any longer.
“This year, my mother bought me a second-hand bicycle. My thanks to her for always trying her best to support my career.
“The bicycle needed a lot of fixing which I did until few minutes just before the race but I must say I was shocked and extremely happy as I heard my name being announced as the winner of 24km race.
He said with cycling being an expensive sport, it becomes a challenge for someone to really excel. “I will continue to dream big and still search for a sponsor or brand to cycle for, so that I can achieve my dreams.”
The young cyclist is inspired by two of his senior cycling mates, whom he says they instil self-discipline in him.
“They assist me whenever my bike is broken and whenever I cannot afford to repair or buy parts for my bike; they motivate me to move on and remain focused,” he said.
A different bike
The flipping of bikes and all the styles performed by BMX riders, leaves viewers astounded as to how it is done.
Namibia’s upcoming rider Eric Garbers started his career at the age of 14, and has matured into being the country’s top BMX rider.
“I started BMX at the age of 14, but I use to ride motocross from the age of four until 13, then I stopped. I then went over into cycling but BMX was just my favourite.
“I started to ride with a few local people but there was nothing much at the beginning, just building our skills and having fun with it. In terms of tricks, it was not really involved. At around 15 I saw some locals who actually did a few tricks and that got me involved in trying some of them,” he said.
He said after meeting Austrian Red Bull BMX rider Senad Grosic, and working with him, he was motivated and just wanted to excel in the sport.
“He returned to Namibia again and did a workshop with all of us who were doing BMX and basically taught us how to build jumps, the discipline of the sport and how to do media interactions. He also motivated us to continue with the sport and in that process I was basically the only one who continued with it,” he mentioned.
Despite so much passion, the 22-year-old Garbers said there are no enough facilities for the BMX riders.
“We do not have enough facilities to ride on so we do it the old-school way of building yourself a dead jump and get a few mattresses and make the best of what you have. Then try back flips or some other trick that you have watched online,” he said.
Garbers said despite having won two gold medals in South Africa already, he mostly does the sport for fun.
KAINO NGHITONGO
The 17-year-old Mocks Mbako trades between different sport codes and still manages to excel in all of them, as he recently won the Nedbank cycle challenge 24km, after having won bronze already in 2015 in addition to his athletics medals and a medal for football.
A huge fan of football, Mbako also plies his trade in athletics, specialising in short distances.
“I am a soccer player and I was on the team at my previous school but my current school does not yet have a soccer team.
“I do athletics, specialising in short distance running of 100m and 200m and I have qualified to take part in the regional athletics which will take place during the weekend of 24 and 25 March in Swakopmund,” he says.
He added that his love for football come from way back when his late father would take him along to matches.
Now also a cyclist, Mbako said he started cycling professionally with Physically Active Youth (PAY) Namibia in 2015.
“My mother took me to the centre for extra classes in the afternoon, which is when I found out that there is a team of young ones that were part of cycling team. After having done my homework, I joined them to assist in repairing their bicycles, watch them and just admire them as they go around with their bicycles.
“I then got an old bicycle from a friend and started cycling and later I was also enrolled as one of the cyclists with PAY,” he said.
In 2015, he won two medals, a bronze in the Nedbank Cycle Challenge and a silver in the Windhoek Pedal Power.
He said 2016 was however good for him as he did not have a bike and was not part of PAY any longer.
“This year, my mother bought me a second-hand bicycle. My thanks to her for always trying her best to support my career.
“The bicycle needed a lot of fixing which I did until few minutes just before the race but I must say I was shocked and extremely happy as I heard my name being announced as the winner of 24km race.
He said with cycling being an expensive sport, it becomes a challenge for someone to really excel. “I will continue to dream big and still search for a sponsor or brand to cycle for, so that I can achieve my dreams.”
The young cyclist is inspired by two of his senior cycling mates, whom he says they instil self-discipline in him.
“They assist me whenever my bike is broken and whenever I cannot afford to repair or buy parts for my bike; they motivate me to move on and remain focused,” he said.
A different bike
The flipping of bikes and all the styles performed by BMX riders, leaves viewers astounded as to how it is done.
Namibia’s upcoming rider Eric Garbers started his career at the age of 14, and has matured into being the country’s top BMX rider.
“I started BMX at the age of 14, but I use to ride motocross from the age of four until 13, then I stopped. I then went over into cycling but BMX was just my favourite.
“I started to ride with a few local people but there was nothing much at the beginning, just building our skills and having fun with it. In terms of tricks, it was not really involved. At around 15 I saw some locals who actually did a few tricks and that got me involved in trying some of them,” he said.
He said after meeting Austrian Red Bull BMX rider Senad Grosic, and working with him, he was motivated and just wanted to excel in the sport.
“He returned to Namibia again and did a workshop with all of us who were doing BMX and basically taught us how to build jumps, the discipline of the sport and how to do media interactions. He also motivated us to continue with the sport and in that process I was basically the only one who continued with it,” he mentioned.
Despite so much passion, the 22-year-old Garbers said there are no enough facilities for the BMX riders.
“We do not have enough facilities to ride on so we do it the old-school way of building yourself a dead jump and get a few mattresses and make the best of what you have. Then try back flips or some other trick that you have watched online,” he said.
Garbers said despite having won two gold medals in South Africa already, he mostly does the sport for fun.
KAINO NGHITONGO
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