Ananias Shikongo, the Namibian thoroughbred

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games will take place today, with Namibia represented by five track and field athletes ready to rise and shine to the momentous occasion.

Ananias Shikongo (T11 category, visually impaired), Chris Kinda (T11), Johannes Nambala (T13, visually impaired), Lahja Ishitile (T11) and Petrus Karuli (T37, coordination impairments) will be in action with their guides.

Even Tjiuiu, Hatago Murere, Kelvin Goagoseb, Onesmus Nekundi, Sem Shimanda and Sydney Kamuuaruma will be at their sides at the Stade de France Stadium in the French capital.

Today we will have a look at the proud history of the seasoned sprinter, Ananias Shikongo, who has been entered for the 100 and 400 metres. Features on Kinda, Nambala, Ishitile and Karuli will follow in upcoming editions.

The 38-year-old Ananias’ past achievements are no mean feat as the visually impaired sprinter dellivered consistently world-class performances in the 100, 200 and 400 metres for more than a decade.

Date of birth: 21 July 1986 in Okankolo in the now Oshikoto Region.

Education: Eluwa Special School and Windhoek Technical High School.

Marketing: Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek.

Nickname: Page.

Ananias took up athletics when he was ten in 1996 at Eluwa Special School in Ongwediva where he was a learner at the time. He made his international debut for Namibia in 2011.

His first appearance was at the 2012 Para Games in London, followed by the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and 2020 Tokyo Games.

At Commonwealth Para Games level, Ananias also competed at Gold Coast 2018, in Australia, as well as the 2022 Birmingham Games in England.

He has also represented Namibia at seven Para World Championships – in 2011 (Christchurch, New Zealand), 2013 (Lyon, France), 2015 (Doha, Qatar), 2017 (London, England), 2019 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), 2023 (Paris, France) and 2024 (Kobe, Japan).



Achievements

He was Namibia's flag-bearer at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique; as well as for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Para Games in 2022 and 2018.

At the Namibian Annual Sport Awards, Ananias was given the Sporting Achievement Award and the Sportsman of the Year with a Disability Award in 2016, in 2022 and in 2023. He also received a sporting achievement award from Disability Sports Namibia in 2015.



Milestones

At the 2020 Para Games in Tokyo, he became the first Namibian in any sport to win four career Paralympic medals.

At the 2016 Rio Para Games, he became the first Namibian male to win a Paralympic gold medal in any sport when he triumphed in the men's T11 200m event with a world record behind his name that he broke twice registering 22.44 seconds in the final.



Medals record

At Paralympic Games: Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro (200m) // Silver 2020 Tokyo (400m) // Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro (100m) // Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro (400m).

At World Championships: Silver 2013 Lyon (200m) // Silver 2015 Doha (200m) // Silver 2017 London (100m) // Silver 2023 Paris (100m) // Bronze 2011 Christchurch (400m) // Bronze 2013 Lyon (100m).

At Commonwealth Games: Bronze 2022 Birmingham (100m).

At All African Games: Three gold medals 2015 Brazzaville (100m, 200m and 400m) // Gold and bronze 2011 Maputo (200m and 400m respectively).



African competitors

Fellow African athletes that will compete against Ananias in the T11 100m is his compatriot Chris Kinda, Emmanuel Grace Mouambako (Congo), Mama Saliu Bari (Guinea-Bissau) and Guillaume Junior Atangana (Cameroon).

His challenger in 400m are Kinda, Zimesele Khamoqane (Lesotho) and Guillaume Junior Atangana (Cameroon).

The first round of the 400m is on Saturday from 12:04, followed by the semi-finals at 19:28. The 400m final is scheduled for September 1 at 20:57.

The first round of the 100m is on 4 September from 10:12, followed by the semi-finals at 20:58. The 100m final is scheduled for September 5 at 19:08.

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