Day: September 17, 2023

Director of Sport in the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, Jo-Ann Manuel, has expressed her directorate’s readiness to elevate the Navachab Half-Marathon into one of the largest events in the region.

Manuel made these remarks during the award ceremony of the 2023 Navachab half-marathon, which took place in Karibib on Saturday.

The Sport Director called upon the organizer of the Navachab Half Marathon, Berthold Karumendu, to collaborate closely with the ministry to transform this marathon into one of the region’s premier events.

‘Next year, we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of this half-marathon, and it would be fantastic to witness the participation of the finest long-distance runners from the region,’ she said.

She emphasized that it is the ministry’s duty to ensure that sports are played in the country and that Namibian children are given opportunities to compete.

‘I urge the event organizer to liaise with the ministry regarding all logistical and financial aspects of incorporating this half-marathon into the World Athletics calendar. We can make this a reality, as hosting events in smaller towns presents fewer logistical challenges,’ Manuel added.

Meanwhile, the event organizer, who also serves as a senior sports officer for the Ministry of Sport in Omaruru, Erongo region, expressed his satisfaction with celebrating nine years of hosting the half-marathon. However, he acknowledged that the race still faces challenges such as manual athlete registration and manual timing, which hinder its ability to attract high-quality regional and international athletes.

‘We need to secure sponsors willing to provide financial support to enable us to engage institutions with digital technology, allowing us to utilize scanners and precise timing. This would cost us between N.dollars 25 000 to N.dollars 30 000,’ he explained.

Karumendu expressed contentment with the increased N.dollars 10 000 prize for the half-marathon winners. Still, he pointed out that for the race to attain Bronze Event status from World Athletics, the prize money must be raised to at least N.dollars 25 000 or more in order to attract elite marathon runners from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the continent.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Newly promoted Debmarine Namibia Premiership outfit Okakarara FC was welcomed to the country’s elite league on Saturday with a 3-1 defeat by Blue Waters at the Swakopmund Sport Stadium.

The 2023/24 Debmarine Namibia Premiership season commenced on Saturday with action in Rundu, Keetmanshop, Okahandja, Swakopmund, Gobabis, and Windhoek.

In a match played in the coastal town of Swakopmund between Blue Waters and Okakarara FC, it took the home team just five minutes to open the scoring. High school errors from the Okakarara FC players saw Blue Waters capitalising on a cross into their box.

Four minutes later, Andjengo Lasarus once again found the back of the net for Blue Waters after a brilliant save by Okakarara’s goalkeeper, Jaepa Mekapurua, found him unmarked outside the 25-metre box, where he released a rocket which could not be prevented from going in by the goalkeeper and his defence.

Blue Waters’s final goal of the match came from Steven Damaseb in the 19th minute as they once again caught the Okakarara defenders napping, and his well-controlled ball also found the back of the net as the Okakarara defence and goalkeeper were left stranded.

Half-time was 3-0 for the home team.

In the second half, the Okarara team found their feet and started playing their passing game which got them a consolation goal in the 87th minute through Utjevera Rukata after their brilliant display in that half.

In an interview with Nampa after the match, Emmel Katjimune, Okakarara FC coach, said he was happy with his team’s display in the second half.

“We had a tough first half playing against the wind and made simple errors. We are going back to rectify our mistakes and hope for a better performance in our next game,” said Katjimune.

Meanwhile, Blue Waters coach Lucky Shipanga said his goal was to collect maximum points, and his players delivered.

“I wanted to score three goals, and we got them. We are now looking forward to our next fixture,” he said.

Other games played on the day saw newly promoted Khomas Nampol collecting maximum points against Young Brazilian in Keetmanshop with a 1-0 score, Young African lost at home 2-0 against FC Ongos, Life Fighters and Julinho Sporting shared the spoils after a goalless draw in Rundu while Okahandja United lost to UNAM 1-0 at home.

Defending Champions African Stars started their campaign on a good note with a 3-1 win against Orlando Pirates in the only match played in Windhoek.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibian amateur boxers who participated in the 2023 Boxing Africa qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics will need to look to Italy or Thailand if they hope to secure any Olympic slots for their country.

Namibia fielded a team of four boxers at the 2023 African Olympic Boxing qualifiers, held in Dakar, Senegal from 09 to 16 September 2023, with the hope of clinching a gold medal and securing direct qualification for the Olympics.

Out of the four boxers, only Gerald Ipinge, who competes in the 80kg category, managed to secure a bronze medal for Namibia. However, this was insufficient to secure him a spot at the global event, as there were only seven available spots in the seven distinct weight classes in the men’s category, while two quotas were open for contention in the five different women’s weight classes.

Following six days of intense boxing action, 13 boxers earned gold medals at the African Olympic Boxing qualifying event in Dakar, Senegal.

A total of 18 quotas were up for grabs for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Algeria emerged as the most successful nation, securing five slots, while Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco each obtained three Olympic quotas. DR Congo, Mozambique, Tunisia, and Zambia earned one place each for Paris 2024.

For African boxers who fell short of securing slots for themselves and their nations in Paris 2024, there will be opportunities to earn additional quotas during the first World Olympic Boxing qualifier scheduled to take place in Italy and the second World Olympic qualifier planned for Thailand next year.

The African Olympic Boxing qualifying event witnessed the participation of 41 countries, with 235 boxers competing across 13 weight classes. Morocco and Senegal boasted the largest delegations, each sending 13 boxers, while Benin, Burundi, Congo, Liberia, and Sudan had the smallest delegations, with one boxer each.

Namibia finished 15th in the medal standings, alongside Cape Verde, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Seychelles, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Uganda. Each of these countries secured one bronze medal.

Algeria topped the medal standings with nine medals, comprising four gold, two silver and three bronze.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency