Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | Namibian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | [1] Iikokola, Namibia | 15 February 1991 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | University of Namibia, Windhoek, NAM [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Namibia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Para-athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | T13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Sprint | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Oshakati Athletics Sports Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Johannes Nambala (born 15 February 1991 [1] ) is a Paralympian athlete from Namibia competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. In 2013 he became the first Namibian to win a gold medal at an IPC Athletics World Championships, when he won the 400m sprint in Lyon. As well as World Championship success Nambala has also won two silver Paralympic medals, both silver, and both won at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Nambala was born in 1991 in the village of Iikokola, in the Uukwaluudhi District of Namibia. [2] He was born with a congenital complication that left him visually impaired; though he is not blind. [3] Nambala now lives in Windhoek, and was educated at Windhoek Technical High School. [2] [3]
Nambala took up athletics in 2012 whilst in South Africa. Training out of Oshakati Athletics Sports Club he was classified as a T13 competitor for visually impaired athletes. He made his senior debut in 2013 and that year he was selected for the Namibia team and travelled to Lyon to compete at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships. [3] There he competed in three events, winning a silver in the 200 metres and became the first Namibian athlete to win an IPC World Athletics gold when he broke the championship record to take 400 metres title. [3]
In the buildup to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Nambala took part in the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha. He took another two World Championship medals, a bronze in the 400 metres, despite posting a faster time than won him the title two years prior, and a gold in the 200 metres. [3] He followed the World Championships with his first African Games, competing in the 400 metres. His time of 48.49 was enough to beat his nearest rival, Algeria's Abdelatif Baka, to claim the gold medal. [4] The next year, at the Rio Paralympics, Nambala entered three events, the 100 metre (T13), the 200 metre (T13) and the 4 x 100 metre relay (T11-13) He won two medals, placing second in both the T13 100m sprint [5] and the T13 400m sprint. [6]
Jason Smyth is an Irish retired sprint runner. He competes in the T13 disability sport classification as he is legally blind, with his central vision being affected by Stargardt's disease; he also competes in elite non-Paralympic competition. As of July 2014, Smyth holds T13 World records in the 100m and 200m events.
Odair Santos is a visually impaired Paralympian athlete from Brazil competing mainly in T11 classification middle and long-distance events. A veteran of four Paralympics, Santos has won nine Paralympic medals, including five silver medals. Santos is also a four time IPC World champion at the 1,500 metres event, being unbeaten from 2006 to 2015.
Sanaa Benhama is a Paralympic athlete from Morocco competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. She has competed at two Summer Paralympics, most notably at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China where she won three gold medals dominating the sprint field in her class.
Ilse Hayes, also known as Ilse Carstens, is a Paralympian athlete from South Africa competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. Hayes has competed for her country at four Summer Paralympics beginning with the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. She has won medals at each of the four games including two gold medals, both in the long jump, at Beijing (2008) and London (2012). As well as her Paralympic success Hayes is a multiple medal winner at World Championship level.
Nantenin Keïta is a French athlete who competes mainly in Paralympic category T13 sprint events. She is the daughter of the Malian musician Salif Keita and thus a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita. Like her father, she was born with albinism, and is visually impaired.
Johanna Benson is a Paralympian athlete from Walvis Bay, Namibia. She competes in T37 long jump and sprint events and at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London she won the women's 200 metres race in her classification. Her 200 metres success in London made her the first Paralympic gold medalist in Namibia's history.
Omara Durand Elías is a visually impaired Cuban sprinter, who competes in T12 and T13 events. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she won gold medals in the 100 m – T13 and 400 m – T13 competitions. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics she won the 100 m – T12 event, setting a new world record at 11.40. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the Women's 400m T12.
The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, from 94 different countries. The event was held in the Stade du Rhône located at the Parc de Parilly in Vénissieux, in Lyon Metropolis.
Namibia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
Alexander Zverev is a Paralympian athlete from Russia competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. Zverev has competed at two Summer Paralympic Games, 2008 in Beijing and 2012 at London. At the 2012 Games he won silver in the 400m sprint.
Carolina Duarte is a track and field athlete from Portugal competing mainly sprint events. Duarte has competed in both disabled and non-disabled sporting competitions. In disability sport she competes as a T13 athlete, a classification for athletes who are visually impaired.
Ananias Shikongo is a Paralympian athlete from Namibia competing mainly in category T11 short-distance events. He was born in 1986 and lives in Windhoek, Namibia. He shares a shack in the Katutura township with Paralympic silver medalist and school friend Johannes Nambala.
Peter Genyn is a Paralympian sportsman from Belgium. Initially Genyn competed as a wheelchair rugby player before switching to track and field athletics in 2014 where he competes in category T51 sprint events. In 2016 he became the world record holder in the T51 men's 400 metres sprint.
Ndodomzi Jonathan Ntutu is a visually impaired South African sprinter. Ndodomzi Jonathan Ntutu is currently South Africa's fastest ever para-athlete. His 10.80 was posted on April 12, 2018, during the heats of the Commonwealth Games. Competing in the T12 classification, Ntutu has competed at three Summer Paralympic Games, winning bronze in the 2012 Games in London. He is also a multiple World Championships winner, taking five medals over four tournaments.
Lynda Hamri is a visually impaired Paralympian athlete from Algeria competing mainly in T12 classification sprint and long jump events. Hamri represented Algeria at two Summer Paralympics, winning a silver in the long jump at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London and a bronze in the same event four years later in Rio de Janeiro. Hamri has also won two silver medals at the IPC World Championships, both in the long jump, at Lyon in 2013 and at Doha in 2015.
Irmgard Bensusan is a South African born Paralympic sprinter who now competes for Germany, mainly in T44 classification events. Bensusan competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics where she won three silver medals in the 100, 200 and 400 metre sprints.
Mahdi Afri is a visually impaired Moroccan Paralympic athlete competing in T12-classification sprinting events. He represented Morocco at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and he won two medals: the silver medal in the men's 400 metres T12 event and the bronze medal in the men's 200 metres T12 event.
Namibia competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
Daniel Tavares Martins is a Brazilian Paralympic athlete who competes in sprinting events at international elite events.
Lahja Ishitile is a Namibian Paralympic T11 track and field athlete.