Namibia’s T11 sprinter, Lahja Ishitile (guide by Sem Shimanda) reached the semi-finals of the women’s T11 200 metres (m) after finishing second in her 200m heat on Saturday morning at the 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships currently underway in Paris, France.

Ishitile and Shimanda ran a seasonal best time of 25.92 seconds to finish second in heat four, behind Brazilian sprinter Thalita Simplico and her guide Felipe Veloso, who won that heat with a time of 25.71 seconds.

The fastest time from the five heats held on the day was clocked by Cuiqing Liu of China and her guide Shengming Chen. They clocked 25.63 seconds to book themselves a spot in the semi-finals that will be held Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and guide Paulus Filippus did not progress to the final of the 100m after finishing last in her heat with a time of 13.22 seconds. The world record holder, defending champion Omara Durand of Cuba and guide Yuniol Kindelan won that heat with a seasonal best of 11.73 seconds.

Only the winners of the two heats and the fastest losing times advance to the final that will be held on Saturday evening.

Other Namibians also expected to compete on Saturday evening are T11 male sprinter Ananias Shikongo, who will compete in the 100m final, and T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala who will also compete in the 400m final.

Over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals, and after eight days of competition, Namibia has won one medal - a silver in the T11 400m by Lahja Ishitile.

The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the IPC.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency