THE nine Namibian athletes that have qualified for the London Olympic Games will have to split N$400 00 in preparation for the tournament.
This was announced by the Namibia National Olympic Committee in Windhoek on Wednesday when they confirmed the qualification of Tjipekapura Herunga (athletics), Mujandjae Kasuto, Jonas Matheus (boxing), Marc Bassingthwaighte (cycling) and Sem Shilimela (wrestling) for the global sport showpiece.
The four join Helalia Johannes, Beata Naigambo (marathon), Dan Craven (cycling) and Gaby Ahrens (shooting) as Namibia’s representatives in London.
The amount of N$400 000 available that will be utilised to cover travel, accommodation and boarding to preparation events, access to appropriate training facilities, medical such as physiotherapy, biokenetics, training gear, supplements, marketing and promotion and out of pocket allowance.
“The NNOC is committed to assist these athletes financially towards their final preparations for the Games,” the national Olympic body said in a statement.
“We believe these athletes and their respective coaching staff have already planned the final preparatory events. We will invite these athletes to submit those plans with a budget to the NNOC office as soon as possible.”
The NNOC has also appealed for public support.
"The athletes and their coaching staff worked extremely hard to qualify for the Games. Namibia as a country with a population of just over 2 million, should be proud to have 9 athletes who have made the A- qualification standards of the Olympic Games.
We wish to appeal to the Namibian population to support our athletes. They will be proud ambassadors and keep the Namibian flag high."