World silvers for three Paralympian sprinters

Para-athletes in Paris
A trio of visually impaired sprinters once again excelled at the highest level.
Tielman Van Lill
  • 1 Year Ago 17 July 2023
Lahja Ishitile, Johannes Nambala and Ananias Shikongo each won a silver medal for their country at the Paralympic Athletics World Championships in Paris, France, in the T11 and T13 sprints at the end of last week.

Ishitile already started her charge in the T11-category 400 metre heats on the first day of the event (July 9) at the Charlety Stadium, by finishing first in her race with 58.46 seconds.

In a remarkable performance, she not only beat her own African record (58.97) in the heat last Sunday, but over the next two days she shattered it again in both the semi-final and final.

On Monday in the semi-final and on Tuesday in the final, she finished second with respectively 58.38 and 57.18 on the stopwatch for a well-deserved silver medal.

In the heats and semifinals it was clear that her biggest opposition would come from Thalita Simplicio of Brazil and Angie Pabon of Colombia. It is Simplicio who earned the gold with 56.60, while Pabon (58.22) takes bronze.

Ishitile also booked a place in the 200 semi-finals on Saturday with a second place in her heat (25.92). In the semi-final she recorded 25.78 (third) and qualified for the final, which will be finalized today at 17:48.

Ishitile said: “I am overwhelmed with emotions. I worked so hard and sacrificed a lot to get up early on the weekends to train.

“I am truly grateful to my family, friends and teammates at the Home of Excellence, my teammates here and in para-sport, my guides and even my lecturers and staff at Unam who allow me to come and compete.

“Many thanks to the Ministry of Sports and to NamPower for making our dreams come true. Without your unwavering support it would not have been possible. However, now I have to concentrate on my other items and try to improve.

“The minister of sports, Ms. Agnes Tjongarero, said the sun must be up, so we will keep running to let it shine over the Land of the Brave. I dedicate this medal to the whole nation, love you all and continue to support disabled sports.”

Nambala

Another established visually impaired speedster, Nambala, finished second in his T13-class 400 metres qualifying round on Friday in 48.92.

In the final on Saturday he achieved a top time of 48.14 (his best time of the year) for his silver.

Ryota Fukunaga of Japan won gold in 47.79 for a new Asian record. Jakkarin Dammunee of Thailand (50.04) finished third for bronze.

Shikongo

In his T11-100 metres heat, Shikongo clocked in for 11.36 (second) and on Saturday in the semi-final he finished second again (11.20). In the final he equaled his African record with 11.11 for a silver medal at the world championship.

Athanas Ghavelas of Greece (10.93) equaled his world record for gold, with Gomes de Souza of Brazil finishing third in 11.34.

– [email protected]