Tuesday, 5th March, we had an opportunity to train with the greatest superstar Ananias Shikongo. This is what the students had to say about his visit.
‘’On Tuesday 12th March we had our athletics afternoon activity and this time it was quite special because Ms. Beata and Mr. Chi invited one of the Namibian Gold medallists to attend. He is blind and his name is Ananias Shikongo. So when he arrived we greeted him and then we asked him questions about athletics and the Paralympics. What I learned was that even when you are blind you can still cry so tears come out of your eyes. After asking Mr. Ananias Shikongo some questions we went down to the field and we trained with him.
First, we warmed-up by running around the big field. Then we did some stretching exercises and running drills. We saw him run at his full speed and when I ran against him he was unbeatable. He would run with a partner who would be as fast as him. We are really thankful that he came, we would like to meet him again or maybe even go to one of his practice sessions.’’ Anant Grade 5K
‘’Mr. Shikongo inspired me with his story about how he got blind and still won a Gold Medal. He trained with us and it was a bit challenging. I am so surprised how fast he can run. I hope he comes again and trains with us again. My favourite part of it was when we got to race with him and his helper.’’ Nelao Grade 3V
Experiencing the presence of an Olympic Gold medallist just never ceases to amaze me. And more so being a blind Paralympian. One important message I took away on Ananias’ visit was to never give up on yourself no matter how old you are or how difficult your challenge may be. If you have a goal, a dream, a vision always work hard and persevere until you achieve it. No great accomplishment ever came easy! He is a true inspiration to the young and the old to not let your disability or disadvantage affect or come in the way of accomplishing something great. And competing against him made me realise I can do anything. Even just barely beating a Gold medalist.’’ Richenda Bok
