Namibians take on Commonwealth Youth Games
Fourteen youngsters have been selected for the sought-after international event.
Namibia’s Commonwealth Youth team is ready for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago from tomorrow until 11 August. The team departed from Windhoek on Monday.The seventh Commonwealth Youth Games will take place on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, with more than 1000 athletes and para-athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 expected to participate in seven sports, managed by more than 500 officials.
During the shoot for this week’s episode of Athletes World, we got to catch up with Nathan Chase, who is participating in triathlon.
“You know, I am very excited for Trinidad and Tobago. It will be my first visit there, but I’m excited more than anything else. I feel good and ready to compete.”
Another triathlete who is just as excited about the Commonwealth Youth Games is Maja Brinkman. She recently took part in the British Junior Super Series Triathlon near Birmingham, following a week of training in Cardiff with the Welsh high performance athletes, where she swam, cycled and ran with top junior and senior Welsh triathletes.
Around 70 girls (15-17 years old) from all corners of Great Britain took part in the race. An initial time trial qualified Maja for the A-final, where she then finished 19th overall and 10th in her age group (girls 16).
‘’I am really feeling good physically, I am just scared to get injured really, but mentally I feel amazing. Training has really been intense, but worth it, because we all need to be in top shape before we leave,’’ Brinkmann said.
Chef de Mission of the team, Joseph Amakali, said preparations for the Commonwealth Youth Games are going well and there are no injuries to worry about, so the team is ready to compete.
The selected Namibian athletes for the Commonwealth Youth Games:
Swimming: Jose Canjulo, Oliver Durand. Coach: Jane Rosamund Samson.
Triathlon: Maja Brinkman, Chloe Rossouw, Fourie Steyn, Nathan Chase. Coach: Adéle de la Rey.
Cycling: Adrian Key and Theuns van der Westhuizen. Coach: Jafet Amukushu.
Athletics: Naomi Schmidt, Magano Naseb, Josia Katroli, Nyanyukweni Frans, Martha Nengola, Alvina Iita. Coach: Goldey Isaaks.
Trinidad and Tobago were initially awarded the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games in June 2019, but the Games were postponed due to Covid-19.