Namibia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
| Namibia at the Paralympic Games | ||||||||||
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| At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in | ||||||||||
| Competitors | ' in ' sports | |||||||||
| Medals | Gold 0 |
Silver 0 |
Bronze 0 |
Total 0 |
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| Paralympic history (summary) | ||||||||||
| Summer Games | ||||||||||
Namibia is scheduled to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
Funding and support
The Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service in Namibia was expected to fund several intensive training camps in preparation for Rio. The Paralympic movement in the country is largely dependent on the government for financial and other support, as the private sector has not contributed much to Paralympic sportspeople's efforts.[1]
Promotional events to support Paralympic efforts were scheduled to take place around the country in the lead up to Rio. One such event took place in Walvis Bay from July 9-12, 2015.[1]
Disability classifications
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Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.[2][3] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.[4]
Athletics
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One of the major target sports for Namibia to qualify for the Rio Paralympics was athletics. Athletes prepped for qualification and potential inclusion on the 2016 Games team by competing in the 2015 All African Games. Athletes the expected by Namibia Paralympics Committee to qualify for Rio included Lahja Ishitile, a bronze medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Johannes Nambala, who won a gold medal in the men's T13 400m at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships,and visually impaired short distance runner Ananias Shikongo.[1]
Lahja Ishitile, Johannes Nambala, Elias Ndimulunde, Rosa Manjoro, Ananias Shikongo, Reginald Benade, and Martin Aloysius all attended the 2015 All African Games and the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships as part of Rio qualification efforts.[1]
