T11 male paralympic sprinters Chris Kinda (guided by Riwaldo Goagoseb) and Ananias Shikongo (guided by Even Tjiuiju) progressed to the semi-finals of the men’s T11 100 metres (m) after finishing second in their heats at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) 2023 World Para Athletics Championships underway in Paris, France.

The T11 100m heats were held on Friday morning at the Charlety Stadium, where over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals.

On Friday morning, Shikongo and Tjiuiju ran a seasonal best of 11.36 seconds to finish second in a photo finish behind Germany’s Marcel Boettger and his guide Alexander Kosenkow, who won that heat with the same time.

Meanwhile, Shikongo’s teammates Kinda and Goagoseb also finished second in their heat with a time of 11.76 seconds to see both runners progressing to the semi-finals.

Alfredo Bernardo, another T11 athlete, and his guide Hatago Murere, failed to reach the next round of the competition after finishing last in their heat with a time of 12.14 seconds.

Only the heat winner and the fastest seven runner-ups from the five heats progressed to the semi-finals slated for 20h35 Friday evening.

Another Namibian expected to compete on Friday evening is T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and her guide Paulus Filippus, who will compete in the 100m heat, while T13 male sprinter Johannes Nambala will compete in the 400m heat.

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

Source: The Namibian Press Agency