Namibia: Special Olympic Teams Ready for Games

David Adetona

24 June 2011

The Namibian Special Olympic teams are currently in Greece where they will compete in this year’s Special Olympics World Summer Games that kick off this Saturday, 25 June. The games end on 4 July.

The delegation, which departed last week, consists of 21 athletes as well as seven officials; Sydney Goagoseb, head of delegation and development officer at the Namibia Sports Commission as well as Frank Albin, basketball head coach from the German Olympic Confederation.

The other officials include; Anna Domingo, assistant basketball coach from the Erongo region, Immy Nieboer, assistant basketball coach from the Kavango region, Lolo Goraseb, football head coach, John Nanyemba, assistant football coach, and Onesmus Shimanya, head coach of athletics.

Before their departure, the team paid a courtesy visit to the Deputy Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture, Pohamba Shifeta, who will also attend the games as government representative.

The purpose of the visit was to inform the deputy minister about their trip to Greece.

Speaking to the team during the visit, Shifeta said the country’s delegation consisting of football, athletics and basketball teams will form part of the thousands of people who will converge in Athens to compete in twenty-two different types of sport.

“The Special Olympics World Games, held every two years, brings public attention to the talents and capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities, as well as helping to change attitudes, break down barriers that exclude physically challenged people from the mainstream of the community,” Shifeta said.

The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports event for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries.

Furthermore, the deputy minister acknowledged that Namibia Special Olympics provides people with

intellectual disabilities in all the regions the opportunities to realize their potential and physical fitness.

The last World Summer Games were held in China in 2007, where the Namibia Special Olympics teams returned with gold, silver and bronze medals.

On his part, Cassius Moetie, chairperson of the Namibia Special Olympics, said the teams has been in training from April since the day of their departure to Greece.

“We are confident that the teams are ready for the games and we promise to make Namibia proud. We have always returned with medals from all the past games-why should this year’s World Summer Games be any different,”Moetie said.

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