Napso athletes deliver record-breaking performances
Athletes from 21 schools across the country gathered in Otjiwarongo last weekend for the Namibia Private Schools Organisation (Napso) annual track and field athletics national championship.
The exciting event hosted by Edugate Academy was attended by many athletes and spectators for two days of high performance athletics and the spirit of community that the event created.
The event featured a variety of track and field items for athletes of ages starting from under 7 all the way up to U19, including turbo javelin, all distance sprints, long jump, high jump and many more. All the athletes competed fiercely for the top positions, while the coaches and supporters cheered them on from the sidelines.
One standout performance came at the boys U19 long jump event, where Sakaria Kondjila from Edugate Academy broke the Napso nationals record by 9 cm. The previous record stood at 7.00 m and he jumped a staggering 7.09m. Besides the long jump record Kondjila also came first in the 100m and 200m sprint finals in his age group.
L'Wyk Viljoen from Pro-Ed threw an impressive distance of 54.90 metres in the boys under 17 discus event.
Emile Kuhn from Tsumeb Gymnasium broke the boys U19 javelin record, reaching a distance of 49.64 m. Kuhn also finished first in the boys U19 shot put and discus competitions.
Another Napso record that was broken was the boys U19 400m hurdles. The winner Jaco Potgieter from Edugate Academy recorded a time of 55.08 seconds.
A female athlete who shone particularly bright was Laliq Adams (WAP) who dominated the girls under 15 shot put and who was also awarded the trophy for the overall best athlete of the Napso nationals.
Upcoming opportunities
Ina Fransman, the organising teacher of Edugate Academy, is very proud and satisfied with how the event played out. She commented: “The weekend went very well, all glory to our Heavenly Father who carried us through. The weather cooperated well, the competition was excellent."
She emphasised the importance of events such as the Napso athletics. “The results at this event shows how much talent there really is in Namibia. In upcoming selections from this, our children will get the opportunity to represent Napso Namibia in other countries.”
Johan-Andre Fourie, CEO of Napso, commented that the event was a great success and that the high quality of athletics that they strive for could clearly be seen in the amount of records that was improved during the event.
There were a total of 33 Napso records broken, of which 11 was broken by athletes from Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool, 10 by Pro-Ed athletes and five by athletes from Edugate Academy.
The spirit and atmosphere of the event was a great reflection of the relationships, memories and community that are built through events such as the Napso athletics.
Ludorum prize winners
Junior victor ludorum (U7-U13)
Stefan Strydom (Pro-Ed U13) – 2471 points
Junior victrix ludorum (U7-U13)
Amelia Esterhuize (WAP U13) – 2452 points
Senior victor ludorum (U15-U19)
Jaco Potgieter (Edugate U19) – 2431 points
Senior victrix ludorum (U15-U19)
Laliq Adams (WAP U15) – 2588 points
Overall best athlete (U7-U19)
Laliq Adams (WAP U15) – 2588 points
