Namibia’s T44 sprinter, Denzel Namene and T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala on Tuesday missed out on silverware after finishing fifth and sixth in their respective events at the 2023 Paris World Para Athletics Championships underway in France.
The 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships which runs from 08 to 17 July, has over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations competing for 168 medals.
On Tuesday night, Namene came fifth in the final of the 100m with a time of 12.45 seconds, while Nambala ran a seasonal best of 11.05 seconds, which was not good enough for a medal as he crossed the line sixth.
T13 100m world record holder, Ageze Salum Kashafali of Norway, won the gold with a championship record of 10.45 seconds.
Meanwhile, Namibian T12 sprinter, Lahja Ipinge, who made her debut at the world athletics championships, was disqualified in the 400m heats for a false start and Namibia’s T11 400m silver medallist Lahja Ishitile also failed to progress to the final of the 100m after finishing second in the semi-finals.
Only the winners of the T11 100m heats and one of the fastest times from the three heats qualified for the final.
On Wednesday morning, T47 athlete Bradley Murere missed out on a medal in the long jump event after finishing 15th with a season-best of 5.62m. Robiel Sol Cervantes of Cuba won the gold with a championship record throw of 7.63m.
Still on Wednesday, T37 sprinter Petrus Karuli, who has thus far found the going tough at the championships, had a change in fortunes as he reached the final of the 400m after finishing second in his heat. Karuli clocked a time of 56.97 seconds, while the heat winner Yaroslav Okapinskyi of Ukraine clocked 54.89 seconds.
After six days of competition, Namibia has one silver medal.
In the previous edition of the IPC World Para Athletics Championships held in 2019 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Team Namibia won two medals which were gold and bronze, both from Johannes Nambala in the 400m and 100m sprints.
The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the International Paralympics Committee.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency