Category: Sports

Namibian cyclist Rodney Stewe was on Wednesday crowned world champion in the five-kilometre (km) cycling event, while Fikameni Hamutenya won a silver medal in the 1 500 metre race at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games.

The 2023 Berlin Special Olympics World Games are underway in Germany.

On Wednesday morning, an emotional Stewe won the country’s first gold at the championships after crossing the line in a time of 6:54.83, outclassing his opponent Hui Teng Yang of China, who was second at 6:58.36, and Jose Quintero of Germany, who came third in a time of 7:05.64 in the men’s level three five-kilometre race.

Meanwhile, Namibian middle-distance runner Hamutenya added another silver medal to the team’s collection after finishing second in the 1 500m run.

Kenyan runner Daniel Mutiso, who won the 800m on Tuesday, got the better of his opponents as he crossed the line with a time of 4:13.14 while Hamutenya came in with a time of 4:17.69, and South African runner Komong Moncho took the final podium position in the Level A 1500m race in a time of 4:30.59.

In an interview with Nampa after the race, Stewe said he enjoyed his race despite being nervous at the start of the race.

“I was worried at the start as my competitors had road bikes while I had a mountain bike, but just one kilometre into the race, I decided to keep close to them because I knew they would get tired through the race, and when they did I overtook them and kept pushing,” he said.

He added that his attention now turns to the 25km race he will compete in on Thursday morning.

After four days of competition, Team Namibia has won three medals: one gold and two silver from athletics track and field events and road cycling.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Senior national men’s football team coach, Collin Benjamin, says his squad is injury free and ready to collect the needed points from their encounter with Burundi.

The Brave Warriors, as the team is affectionately known, is scheduled to play Burundi in Tanzania Tuesday afternoon in their final match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

Namibia currently sits atop Group C in the Afcon qualifiers with five points from three games and needs only one point from its next match to reach the Afcon finals that will be held in Ivory Coast in January 2024.

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, Benjamin said every player in his squad is hungry to win and they cannot wait to step onto the field of play.

“We just finished our last training session and seeing as this match will present an opportunity for some of the players to be counted as part of an elite group that qualified for Afcon twice, I am positive they will give it their all to get the required results,” he said.

Benjamin added that they have done everything possible in training and the only thing left is for the team to collect the necessary points.

“Our goal is to be on the same table with the best teams in Africa and we are looking forward to being there,” he said, stating that the players and management are confident and ready to battle Burundi.

Burundi is currently bottom of Group C with one point from two matches played, while Cameroon is second in the group with four points from three matches.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibian sprinter Louise Segaria and middle-distance runner Finamekeni Hamutenya are in contention to win Namibia’s first silverware at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games underway in Berlin, Germany.

Segaria reached the women’s Level A 200m final on Monday afternoon after finishing fourth in heat six of that event. The Namibian sprinter, who earlier in the day competed in the standing long jump event, ran a personal best of 30.11 seconds to book a spot in the elite race of the women’s Level A competition.

Her previous personal best was 30.33 seconds.

Sele Barrios of Venezuela won the Level A 200m heat with a time of 27.46 seconds, a much-improved performance from her race on Sunday, when she clocked a time of 28.25 seconds, which was at the time the fastest time from all the heats.

Ghanaian sprinter Marie Zalo finished second in the semi-finals with a time of 29.08 seconds, while Catlin Romer from the Bahamas closed out the top three positions with a time of 29.26 seconds.

Meanwhile, middle-distance runner Hamutenya, who reached the men’s 800m final on Monday morning, will also be in action on Tuesday. He now has a mammoth task of once again outrunning Kenyan runner Daniel Mutiso, who won the 1 500m semi-finals against him on Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, the Namibian 3×3 basketball team lost its first division game 1-3 against Uruguay, but then managed to upset host nation Germany 5-2 in their second game at the championships.

This year’s championships, dubbed as one of the most inclusive, will see over 6 500 Special Olympics athletes and unified partners (athletes without intellectual disabilities) from 176 delegations competing for silverware in the different sporting codes.

The games are being held under the theme #UnbeatableTogether, and athletes are united in taking the Special Olympics oath promising, ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.’

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The senior national men’s football team lost its final match of the qualifiers 2-3 against Burundi and will now have to wait for the outcome of the games between Cameroon and Burundi in September.

The Brave Warriors, as the team is affectionately known, conceded two early goals against Burundi in Tanzania on Tuesday afternoon in their final match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

Lack of concentration between the defence and goalkeeping department saw Burundi grabbing early goals in the first half but the Namibian team managed to pull a goal back through their talisman Peter Shalulile before the halftime break to make it 1-2 at halftime.

In the second half, Burundi once again extended their lead despite the Namibian team having most of the possession. A late goal from Wendell Rudath in the 85th minute was not enough for the Brave Warriors to collect the much-needed one point which would have seen them automatically qualifying for the continental showpiece.

Despite their defeat, Namibia still sits atop Group C in the Afcon qualifiers with five points from three games.

Burundi and Cameroon are levelled on four points but Cameroon occupies second position while Burundi is third, based on the head-to-head between the two sides.

Namibia’s qualification for the 2023 Ivory Coast Afcon will now be dependent on the final results of the Afcon qualifiers between Cameroon and Burundi on 04 September 2023 in Cameroon.

A draw from the two teams will mean all teams in Group C will be levelled on five points and Namibia will not qualify for the competition based on the head-to-head comparison against Burundi.

The only way Namibia can book a place on a table with the best teams in Africa come January 2024, is a win from either side in their final match.

This will then mean Namibia will complete the qualifiers with five points while the winning team will top the group with seven points.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibian sprinter Louise Segaria reached the final of the women’s 200 metres (m) on Sunday after winning heat one of her event at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games underway in Berlin, Germany.

Segaria was the second and last Namibian athlete to compete on the day, outclassing her competitors as she clocked 30.56 seconds to cross the line first.

This year’s championships, dubbed as one of the most inclusive, will see over 6 500 Special Olympics athletes and unified partners (athletes without intellectual disabilities) from 176 delegations competing for silverware in the different sporting codes.

The games are being held under the theme; ‘#UnbeatableTogether and athletes are united in taking the Special Olympics oath promising, ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.’

On Sunday afternoon, Sagaria came first in her heat, beating Anja van Helden of Switzerland and Widjmy Charles of Haiti to the line.

Despite winning her heat, the fastest time of the Level A 200m was posted by Sele Barrios of Venezuela, who clocked a time of 28.25 seconds in heat two of the championships.

The 200m final will be contested on Monday from 11h00.

The Special Olympics World Games are being held from 18 to 25 June 2023 in Berlin.

Namibia is represented in athletics, cycling and 3×3 basketball.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibia’s track and field athlete Finamekeni Hamutenya ran a personal best record to finish second in the men’s 1500 metres (m) heats at the 2023 Berlin Special Olympics World Games underway in Berlin, Germany.

The Special Olympics World Games are the world’s largest inclusive sporting event. At this year’s championships over 6,500 Special Olympics athletes and Unified partners (those athletes without intellectual disabilities) from 176 delegations unite in taking the Special Olympics oath promising, ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.’

On Sunday afternoon, Hamutenya became the first Namibian to take to the track in the Level A 1500 metre (m) heat three of the quarterfinals at the Hanns-Braun Stadium in Berlin.

With his impressive run of 4:12.79 seconds, the Namibian athlete finished second behind Kenyan runner Daniel Mutiso who completed the three laps in a time of 4:11.90 seconds.

Hamutenya’s previous record was 4:28.00 seconds.

In an interview with Nampa after the race, Hamutenya said he was excited to set a new personal best.

“I enjoyed the race, I am looking forward to the final. It felt good, and my hard work at training helped in this race well,” Hamutenya said.

Meanwhile, Julien Garises the team Chef de Mission for this game told this agency that it feels great to see athletes giving it their all.

“Germany has welcomed us well, and we keep on talking to the athletes about their readiness for the games. At the moment, I am happy with their readiness and focus,” she said.

Garises added that the Namibian athletes at the games are well-behaved and are looking forward to making their nation proud.

“Coming early to Germany gave us time to acclimatize to the weather while at the same time giving the athletes enough time to put in the extra work at training,” she said, adding that credit should be given to the Namibian government for making all this possible.

The Special Olympics World Games are being held from 18 to 25 June 2023 in Berlin. Namibia is represented in three sports codes, namely athletics, cycling and 3×3 basketball.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency