The Namibia National Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced a further sponsorship of N$400 000 for Namibia’s athletes that have qualified for the Olympic Games.
The international federations of athletics, boxing, cycling and wrestling confirmed the qualification of boxers Mujandja Kasuto and Jonas Mattheus, mountain biker Marc Bassingthwaighte, athlete Tjipekapora Herunga and wrestler Sem Shilimela.
A total of nine Namibian athletes have now qualified for the Olympic Games, with cyclist Dan Craven, shottist Gaby Ahrens and marathon runners Beata Naigambo and Helalia Johannes already having qualified previously.
The treasurer of the NNOC Ndeulipula Hamutumwa said they were hopeful that more athletes would still qualify since the qualification window for Athletics was still open and athletes had time to qualify until 8 July.
He said that the NNOC was committed to assist these athletes financially towards their final preparations for the Games that will start within 73 days.
“We believe these athletes and their respective coaching staff have already planned the final preparatory events. We will invite these athletes to submit those plans with a budget to the NNOC office as soon as possible,” he said.
Hamutumwa said the NNOC had N$400 000 available that would be utilised to cover the following elements of preparation:
Travel, accommodation and boarding to preparation events; Access to appropriate training facilities; Medical aspects such as physiotherapy and biokenetics; Training gear;
Supplements; Marketing & Promotion; and Out of pocket allowance.
“The athletes and their coaching staff worked extremely hard to qualify for the Games. Namibia as a country with a population of just over two million people, should be proud to have nine athletes who have made the A-qualification standards of the Olympic Games. We wish to appeal to the Namibian population to support our athletes. They will be proud ambassadors and keep the Namibian flag high,” he said.