LAHJA Ishitile announced her arrival on the international sporting scene two years ago when, having just turned 17, she won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Competing in the T11/12 race for visually impaired athletes, Ishitile came second in her first round heat in a personal best time of 13,40 seconds to qualify for the final.
In the final, she streaked down the track with her guide David Ndeilenga to finish third behind the winner Libby Clegg of Scotland and Maria Muchavo of Mozambique.
With her bronze medal, she was one of only three Namibian medallists at the Games, with the others being fellow Para sport athlete Johanna Benson and boxer Junias Jonas.
What made her achievement even more remarkable was the fact that she was the only T11 or completely blind athlete to qualify for the final, with the other finalists all being T12 athletes with a higher visual ability.
“In Scotland they combined the T11s and T12s into one race. I’m a T11 or totally blind athlete but I ran with athletes who could still see a bit and after the first round heats I was the only T11 athlete to qualify for the final. In the final I managed to win the bronze medal and I was really happy with my performance, ” she said.
“That was my best performance on the international stage. It was a great feeling to win the bronze medal and it made me more determined to improve my time and my performances, ” she added.
Ishitile only started running by chance after she decided to make the best of an early life tragedy. She was born in Outapi in northern Namibia and grew up in Okapanda village in the Oshikoto region. By the age of seven she however started losing sight in her left eye and it later spread to her right eye. Her condition gradually worsened and by the age of 11 she was completely blind.
“I was really sad and my mother was also very affected by it she used to cry every day. By Grade 1 I started turning blind and it was very difficult because living in the dark is really something else, ” she said.
Her parents helped her through these difficult times, taking her to various
hospitals and supporting and counselling her and when she was 10 she restarted her schooling at the Eluwa Special School in Ongwediva where she found a caring and supportive environment.
“At Eluwa I found learners just like me they accepted me from the start and were very supportive. A lot of them did sport, so I joined them and started competing in school competitions while I also joined the Oshana Heroes Club in Oshakati. ”
Ishitile progressed steadily and by 2011 she competed at her first National Paralympic Championships in Windhoek where she won three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 400m.
The following year, at the age of 15, she was selected to the Namibian team to compete at the Zone 6 Youth Games in Lusaka, Zambia and once again excelled to win three gold medals.
In 2013 she competed at her first South African Disabled Championships and made an immediate impact winning six medals in the u20 and senior categories. Later that year she competed at the IPC World Championships for the first time in Lyon, France, and having just turned 16, she reached the final of the 100m and 400m, finishing fourth in the latter in a personal best time of 1:04,27.
“I was very encouraged, because I came fourth in the world in the 400m while I was now the number one in Africa in the 100m, ” she said.
In 2014 she won three medals at the SA Championships and then in July, her crowing glory to date came at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
Since then, she excelled at the All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville last year, winning a bronze medal in the 100m, while she also competed at the IPC World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where she came fourth in the 100m final and fifth in the 400m final.
Ishitile has been in great form this year, winning two gold and a bronze medal at the SA Open Championships in Bloemfontein, while her winning 100m time of 13,42 is the sixth fastest in the world this year. Now, preparing for her first Paralympic Games in Rio, she is quietly confident of doing well.
“I hope I can improve my times and I expect to bring something for Namibia, ” she said.
One on One with Lahja Ishitile
When and where were you born?
21 July 1997 in Okapanda village
Who played a big role in your youth?
My parents they are always supporting me and encouraging me to keep on training and do well in my sport.
Who was your sporting hero?
What was your most memorable moment as an athlete?
Winning the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
What do you like to eat and drink?
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