Proud of Namibia's athletes ? Chainda
Accra 2024
The Namibia Sports Commission said it is proud of the performance of the country’s athletes at the just ended African Games in Accra, Ghana.Namibia secured ten medals and finished in 24th position among the 45 nations that won medals.
The swimmer Ronan Wantenaar won the country's only gold medal, along with four silver and five bronze medals secured in swimming, wrestling, athletics, cycling and cricket.
The multi-sport event entailed 16 days of contests with approximately 5 000 athletes from across the continent.
Speaking to Sport Wrap shortly after the closing ceremony, Chalo Chainda, public relations and marketing manager of the Namibia Sports Commission, said the team’s performance was exceptional, as they came close to setting a new national record by claiming 10 medals.
“We have been exceptional and we are satisfied on our overall performance,” Chainda said.
He said the Richelieu Eagles cricket team, who added the nation’s last silver medal on Saturday after a 8-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the final, was a highlight.
“In general I would like see our teams better prepared, as we picked up a few injuries during training both at home and during the games,” Chainda said.
He pointed out that a larger team of individual sport codes such as boxing and karate, as well as beach volleyball and field athletics events such as javelin, discus throw, high jump and long jump could boost the medal chances in future.
“The African Games in Accra was a great success in terms of the overall logistical coordination. From the investment in Ghana’s sports infrastructure, to volunteer coordination and the transportation network was great and we could learn a lot from the local organising committee as we prepare to host the African Union Sports Council (USC) Region 5 Games in May 2025,” Chainda said.
He urged Namibia’s International Games Committee to benchmark on Ghana’s example, in its preparation for hosting such mega-events.
The African Games concluded with Egypt by far the top-performing nation, securing a total of 192 medals across various competitions. Egypt secured a remarkable 103 gold, 47 silver and 42 bronze medals.