By Nick Butler

Triathlete Jean-Paul Burger won one of four gold medals for Nambia at the African Youth Games ©NNOCCelebrations have been held in Windhoek to mark the strong performances by Namibian athletes at the African Youth Games in neighbouring Botswana last month.

Namibia finished in a respectable 10th position on the medals table in Gabarone, earning a total of 14 medals across seven sports, of which four were gold. 

The 60-strong team, drawn from a total of 10 sports, was a huge increase on the two-person squad which represented the west African country four years ago at the inaugural Youth Games in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. 

Water sports proved particularly fruitful this time around, with Zanré Oberholzer and Sonja Adelaar winning the women's 100 metre backstroke and 100m freestyle swimming titles, while Jean-Paul Burger was victorious in the men's triathlon. 

Lize Moolman and Sedi Jacobs also secured gold in women's tennis, while medals were also won in boxing, golf, mountain-biking, boxing and athletics. 

In a special Ceremony at the Namibian National Olympic Committee (NNOC) headquarters last Friday (June 29), all Namibian performers were awarded with certificates from the organisers, recognising their performances. 

High achievers were also awarded with a financial bonus from the NNOC.

Swimmers Sonja Adelaar and Zanré Oberholzer were two other Namibian stars in Gabarone after each securing two medals ©NNOCSwimmers Sonja Adelaar and Zanré Oberholzer were two other Namibian stars in Gabarone after each securing two medals ©NNOC





A special recognition at the Ceremony was also bestowed on high jumper Siranda Horn, despite the fact she did not win a medal.

This was due to a rule change announced by the African continental athletics body the day before the competition - only one athlete per country was permitted to participate in each discipline at the Games.

Because eventual bronze medal winner Kristien Kruger had already been selected, Horn was forced to participate in a B-category competition, meaning that despite clearing a personal best height of 1.70m, the third highest mark of the overall competition, the 16-year-old was not considered for a medal. 

Namibian Chef de Mission, Monica Böhm, praised Horn not only for her strong result, but also for her exemplary sportsmanship and mental strength with which she was able to perform to register a personal best despite her adverse circumstances.

Böhm also praised the strong performances of the rest of the team.

Namibia will now be focusing on the Youth Olympics to be held in Nanjing from August 16 to 28, with it being hoped that some of the young athletes will convert to senior level ahead of the next Olympic Games in Rio, in 2016.

Two years after that, the third edition of the African Youth Games will be hosted in 2018 in the Algerian capital, Algiers, where the Games will once again be aimed at athletes aged 14 to 18.

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