Mwiya foresees more success for Namibia in Ghana

Namibia will continue to move up on the 2023 African Games medal table this week, says Namibia Sports Commission chief administrator Freddy Mwiya.

The team ranked joint-seventh with host nation Ghana yesterday after claiming a gold medal, one silver and two bronze medals on Sunday.

Leading the way was Ronan Wantenaar, who won gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke event on Sunday, while Alexander Skinner, who was the first Namibian to medal in Accra, bagged a silver in the men’s 100m butterfly.

Jessica Humphrey was the third Namibian swimmer to medal when she picked up the women’s 200m Backstroke, as Ester Abraham also claimed bronze in the women’s freestyle 52kg wrestling.

“It’s not easy but we have managed to win some medals so far and we look forward to more good performances. What I’m impressed most about is the team spirit and the discipline in the team,” Mwiya said in a brief to The Namibian Sport.

“The athletics group is the biggest contingent that we have here and they are training well and looking good. They are looking very focused, so come 17 and 18 March, when we get to the athletics stadium, we might also be able to collect some medals in that area.”

The swimmers were due for more action yesterday when the heats of several disciplines were to take place.

Around 5 000 athletes from 52 nations are participating in 30 disciplines, including eight Olympic qualifying sports, from 8 to 23 March. The games are taking place across Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast.

Mwiya says the organisation is commendable, despite reports of marketing revenue and incomplete facilities contributing to the event’s delay.

It took five years to build facilities at Borteyman, the University of Ghana, and to renovate existing infrastructure elsewhere for the three week festival, according to a report published by modernghana.com yesterday.

The Ghanaian government reportedly spent US$195 million (about N$3,6 billion) on infrastructure and a US$45,7 million (N$856 million) operational budget, which has caused a stir in the west African country.

“In terms of the event arrangement, I’m quite impressed. I think Africa has grown. Ghana has done well. We are very impressed, especially in terms of infrastructure. There is a lot of new infrastructure that was constructed for the games. As we emphasise on African solidarity and the Africa that we want, you can see that the spirit is very high,” said Mwiya.