Namibia’s track and field athlete Finamekeni Hamutenya ran a personal best record to finish second in the men’s 1500 metres (m) heats at the 2023 Berlin Special Olympics World Games underway in Berlin, Germany.
The Special Olympics World Games are the world's largest inclusive sporting event. At this year’s championships over 6,500 Special Olympics athletes and Unified partners (those athletes without intellectual disabilities) from 176 delegations unite in taking the Special Olympics oath promising, ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.’
On Sunday afternoon, Hamutenya became the first Namibian to take to the track in the Level A 1500 metre (m) heat three of the quarterfinals at the Hanns-Braun Stadium in Berlin.
With his impressive run of 4:12.79 seconds, the Namibian athlete finished second behind Kenyan runner Daniel Mutiso who completed the three laps in a time of 4:11.90 seconds.
Hamutenya’s previous record was 4:28.00 seconds.
In an interview with Nampa after the race, Hamutenya said he was excited to set a new personal best.
“I enjoyed the race, I am looking forward to the final. It felt good, and my hard work at training helped in this race well,” Hamutenya said.
Meanwhile, Julien Garises the team Chef de Mission for this game told this agency that it feels great to see athletes giving it their all.
“Germany has welcomed us well, and we keep on talking to the athletes about their readiness for the games. At the moment, I am happy with their readiness and focus,” she said.
Garises added that the Namibian athletes at the games are well-behaved and are looking forward to making their nation proud.
“Coming early to Germany gave us time to acclimatize to the weather while at the same time giving the athletes enough time to put in the extra work at training,” she said, adding that credit should be given to the Namibian government for making all this possible.
The Special Olympics World Games are being held from 18 to 25 June 2023 in Berlin. Namibia is represented in three sports codes, namely athletics, cycling and 3x3 basketball.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency