Namibia’s T47 sprinter, Bradley Murere and T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge (guided by Paulus Filippus) on Monday missed out on spots to contend for medals after failing to reach the finals of their respective events.
The athletes are competing at the 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships which ends on Monday evening at the Charlety Stadium in Paris, France.
Over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals.
On Monday morning, Murere finished fourth in heat two of the mixed category of the T46/47 100m, with a time of 11.26 seconds, while Petrucio Ferreira of Brazil won the heat with a seasonal best of 10.35 seconds, which was also the fastest time from all the three heats held.
Meanwhile, Namibian T12 sprinter Lahja Ipinge, who made her debut at this year’s championships, finished last in the 200m semi-finals. After running a personal best of 26.65 seconds on Sunday evening in the heats to qualify for the semi-final, the Namibian athlete could not replicate her previous performance as she clocked 27.19 seconds to finish fourth in the race and finished sixth overall at the championship.
Cuban sprinter Omara Durand ran the fastest time from all the two semi-final heats held on Monday morning, clocking a seasonal best of 23.58 seconds to book a spot in the final.
The only Namibian currently left in the competition is T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile (guided by Sem Shimanda), who will compete in the final of the T11 200m at 17h48 on Monday.
After 10 days of competition, Namibia has three silver medals. They were won by Ishitile, T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala and T13 sprinter Ananias Shikongo (guided by Even Tjiuiju).
In the previous edition of the IPC World Para Athletics Championships held in 2019 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Team Namibia won two medals, both from Johannes Nambala, who won bronze medals in the 400m and 100m sprints.
The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the International Paralympics Committee.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency