Top athletes rewarded

TEARS of joy and disappointment flowed in equal measure during Friday’s spectacular Namibia Sport Award ceremony in Windhoek.

Seeing joint sport achiever and sportsman with a disability recipient Ruben Gowaseb overcome with emotion when accepting his accolades drew an empathetic response from the audience, while young swimmer Daniella Lindemeier appeared grief-ravaged after her three All Africa Games bronze medals failed to materialise into a prize on the night.

There were tears of joy for equestrian rider Michelle Künle, who beat Lindemeier to the sportswoman of the year award, while boxer Paulus Ambunda grinned cheerfully when collecting the best sportsman accolade and the sport achiever award, which he shared with Gowaseb.

Paralympic star Johanna Benson retained the sportswoman with disability award, while the junior prize winner is rising star Lahja Ishitile.

Abraham Hafenanje won the junior male sportsman with disability award, with the able-bodied equivalent going to Tristan de Lange.

This year’s award recipients demonstrated the country’s ability to compete on the international stage and deserved to be rewarded for their effort, according to deputy sport minister Agnes Tjongarero.

“Over the past year our athletes participated in major games and returned home with very inspiring results. You have indeed made us very proud,” Tjongarero said.

“Sporting excellence is about moving boundaries and continuously setting new standards. You all have set very high benchmarks for others to emulate,” she said.

“Your achievements reflect the spirit of team Namibia. We hope you will continue to achieve excellence in your sporting careers and pushing boundaries,” added the veteran official.

Deceased former sport administrator Piet du Plooy was honoured with the chairperson’s award, while he also received lifetime achievement recognition along with Elifas Shipanga, Wolfgang Klein, John Muinjo, Carol Garoes, Elifas Shipanga and Boet Matthews.

Award winners: Sports Achiever – Ruben Gowaseb and Paulus Ambunda (N$200 000); Sportswoman – Michelle Kunzle (N$100 000); Sportswoman with Disability – Johanna Benson (N$100 000); Sportsman – Paulus Ambunda (N$100 000); Sportsman with Disability Ruben Gowaseb (N$100 000); Junior Sportsman with Disability – Abraham Hafenanje (N$50 000)

Junior Sportswoman with Disability – Lahja Ishitile ((N$50 000); Junior Sportswoman – Lesedi Jacobs ((N$50 000); Junior Sportsman – Tristan de Lange (N$50 000); Volunteer – Wessel Kotze (N$30 000); Referee – Johan Oberholster (N$30 000); Most Improved Sportsperson – Peter Shalulile (N$50 000); Administrator – Gunther Rust (N$30 000); Coach – Nestor Tobias (N$30 000)

Sports Team – senior national football team (N$70 000); Development Programme – Namibia Volleyball Federation (N$100 000).