Africa-Press – Namibia. Veteran athletics coach Henk Botha says while some progress has been made in Namibian athletics, it is far from enough.
Speaking to Desert FM recently, Botha said Namibia cannot adequately plan for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“If you look at countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, they already have programmes for the 2032 Olympic Games underway,” he said.
“They are already selecting junior athletes and exploring how best to support them. I think that at this stage, we cannot plan for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Our main focus should now be the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.”
Botha said Namibia’s biggest challenge is delaying athlete selection until a year before events, which he considers far too late.
“We are busy with a long-term plan that I’m personally working on with the Olympians. Hopefully, we will see some change soon,” he said.
“We have at least six to seven athletes with the ability to qualify. The qualification window opened only a few months ago, and there are not many competitions yet,” he said.
Botha said Namibia’s first qualifying competition will be in January, with the window closing at the end of June.
Based on 2024’s results, he is confident that several athletes would meet qualification standards.
“I’m talking about Lionel Coetzee (long jump), and we are looking at Ryan Williams (shot put). We also have possibilities in the sprints and the 400m,” Botha said.
“I believe at least six to seven could attend the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.”
While Namibia has talent, Botha says the country lacks proper planning, infrastructure, and resources.
“We need to engage with major role players, including the government, Athletics Namibia, and the corporate sector, to uplift athletics,” he said.
Botha revealed that Namibia will host a major international athletics event in Windhoek from 27 to 28 March next year.
“It will be the biggest athletics event in the country and will be remembered for a long time,” he said.
He stressed that other sport codes could learn from Cricket Namibia, which has professional systems in place.
“Corporates do not invest in events that are not professionally run. We need to improve our systems and get more people back to stadiums during the athletics season,” Botha said.
“Walk around Windhoek and ask anyone when they last attended an athletics event; most won’t remember. That must change if people are to believe in and love athletics again.”
Paralympic coach Letu Hamhola praised veteran sprinter Ananias Shikongo and encouraged young athletes to learn from him.
“The goal is to see new athletes emerging, not just for 2028 but also to qualify more athletes for the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, as well as other sport codes,” he told Desert FM.
Hamhola said the challenge of lacking registered tracks in Namibia, forcing athletes to compete abroad for qualification.
“We hope for good engagement with the authorities to establish proper pathways for athletes,” he said, adding that Namibia faces a busy sporting year ahead, including the African Games in Angola and Senegal, and the World Junior Championships in Oregon, United States.
INDEPENDENCE STADIUM
Botha said the ongoing Independence Stadium upgrade leaves Namibia without an alternative venue for the next athletics season.
“The problem is we cannot wait for Independence Stadium. It is shared by the government, football, and other official events. Our biggest challenge is obtaining our own venue,” he said.
“We are exploring property acquisition and hope to start construction next year. We need our own facility and tracks for international competitions. This is crucial to uplifting Namibian athletes; otherwise, the future looks bleak.”
Hamhola echoed these concerns, noting that Namibia currently lacks a track field that meets World Athletics standards, which require tracks to be no older than ten years. He called for upgrades at Swakopmund and Oshakati.
“I still believe and dream that, before I die, we can produce athletes as iconic as the best in the world,” Botha said.
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