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