'Guides need to be rewarded'Paralympic team coach Mike Hamukwaya believes it is important that the guides who help his athletes get rewarded for their work. Coach calls for Paralympic stars’ helpers to be recognised 0 The national Paralympic coach, Mike Hamukwaya, says rewarding a guide runner would serve as motivation to others.Hamukwaya said he is trying to educate the government and everybody else in the country on the importance of rewarding not only the Paralympic athletes but their guides as well.
In an interview with Namibian Sun on Wednesday, he said the International Paralympic Movement (IPM) has shown the world how it is supposed to be done.
“You have seen it on television when the IPM are awarding the athletes… they always award the guide runner as they try and show to the world how it is supposed to be,” he said.
“People in Namibia only award the athletes so it is like they do not want to award a guide runner and it is for the athlete to decide whether to share with the guide. But then it is not fair because even the medals brought to the country is by both of them,” he said.
He said if the athlete and the guide are rewarded equally it would encourage more athletes to become guide runners.
“So we need to do things the right way, especially for the next Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020 so that by then maybe we will even have 20 guide runners and have an option of selecting the best ones.”
Shares
Gold medallist Ananias Shikongo, who runs in the T11 category of blind athletes, shares his coach’s opinion.
Shikongo said if guides are not rewarded for what they do they are discouraged from continuing and the athletes suffer as a result.
He said he shared a few dollars with guide Sam Shimanda, who he ran with at the All-Africa Games (AAG) last year where they bagged three gold medals.
“I felt that there was a need for me to share with my guide because he did not get anything. But I did not do this alone so I had to share otherwise he will also give up on guiding me,” he said.
Shikongo said he plans to do the same if his long-time guide Even Tjiviju does not get any financial reward for the two medals they won at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Although athletes received N$60 000 for a gold medal, N$40 000 for silver and N$20 000 for bronze from the AAGs, the guides did not receive anything.
Deputy minister of sports Agnes Tjongarero said when she welcomed the Paralympic team back that the government would fulfil its commitment made to the athletes before they went to the Games.
She said they would later inform the public what kind of reward the athletes would be given.
KAINO NGHITONGO