Nambala in high spirits at Paralympics
By Michael Uugwanga
ONE of the country’s top paralympic male athletes Johannes Nambala is in high spirits as he prepares for his second Paralympics Games that started on Tuesday August 24 in Japan with the 30-year-old also looking for his first gold medal at the games.
In 2016 at the Rio Paralympic Games, Nambala scooped two silver medals, in the 100m T13 and 400m T13.
In 2013, Nambala became the first Namibian paralympian sprinter to win a gold medal at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships in Lyon, France, when he won his favourite heat the 400m T13, before making history again by winning gold in the 200m T13 in Doha, Qatar at the IPC World Championships in 2015.
Today, Nambala is one of the most decorated paralympians, not only in the country but worldwide.
Speaking from Tokyo on Tuesday, as he awaits his first heat in the 100m on Sunday, Nambala has said that he is in high spirits and raring to go.
He will also be in action in the 400m on September 1.
“All is good here and I am getting ready for the games starting this week. I am in the spirit of winning medals for my country.
I will not say at this stage that I am going to win a gold medal, but that is what all athletes want to win from the Paralympic Games,” said Nambala.
Nambala who will be one of the favourites in the 400m heat also said that this will not be his last Paralympic Games, as he looks forward to his next Paralympic Games to be held in Paris in 2024, while also eyeing the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“I will be taking part in the 100m and 400m; 400m is my favourite and this is not my last Paralympic Games as I still have two more Paralympic Games to come, depending on my performances at this year’s games.
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Nambala is one of the few athletes in the country that are under the sponsorship of the Frank Fredericks Foundation.
Nambala was born with a congenital complication that left him visually impaired, and he completed his secondary education at Windhoek Technical High School.
So far, only two paralympians have won gold medals for Namibia at the prestigious event – female sensation Johanna Benson at the Paralympic Games in London in the 200M T37 and Ananias Shikongo in the 200m T11 in Rio.