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Miller takes confidence into Paris Olympics

Paris 2024
Feeling blessed to be selected for his second Olympic Games participation, the 23-year-old reflects on his journey.
Brian Munango
As Namibia's premier mountain bike rider, Alex Miller is ready to make waves at the 2024 Olympics’s cross-country event.

At 23, Miller has already built an impressive resume, boasting a Commonwealth Games medal, two African continental cross-country titles (Cairo 2018 and Windhoek 2022) and numerous national titles.

Currently professionally contracted by South African team Toyota Specialized, Miller is ranked 18th in the world with 603 points.

Known for his versatility and consistency, his performances at the African Continental Championships and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series in Europa highlights his preparedness for Olympic competition.

The 23-year-old is relishing the prospect of coming up against the world’s best on Monday 29 July at 14:10 at Élancourt Hill, southwest of Paris, where only 36 world-class men’s riders will compete in the men’s cross-country Olympic mountain bike race.

At the opening ceremony commences on Friday, Miller will share the national flag-bearer responsibility with the other Namibia Cycling Federation representative in Paris – Vera Looser (women’s road race on Sunday 4 August).

Being the flag-bearer is a great honour, says Miller, who finished 31st in his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2021 as a 19-year-old.

“This is my second Olympics, it’s quite special. Not many people get to say they have participated in two Olympics, never mind one. I’ve been blessed,” Miller said in a promo video supplied by the Namibia Athletes Commission.

“The first time was 2021 [Tokyo Olympics], so three years ago. I think I’ve gotten a lot stronger, both physically and mentally, I think.”



World-class competitor

Evidence of Miller’s marked improvement since the last Olympics was amplified when he won the cross-country bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, as well as the 2022 African title.

More recently, he followed up with a silver on his UCI Marathon World Cup debut in the Czech Republic in May this year.

“My coach [Hans du Toit] and I, we’ve come a long way. I can confidently say that meeting him changed my life. We work well together, and I’m super happy,” Miller says of his transformation to a truly world-class competitor.

“Recently, it’s gotten a lot better for me, because obviously my results in some of the races have been up there.

“I’ve gone into those races thinking, I feel good. I’m going to give it my best shot. If it’s a top-30, top-20, I’ll be happy with it. But there I go, fighting for the win. For me, it’s been really motivating,” says Miller.

“You’re at one with yourself. The good feeling you get out of it, it’s so rewarding. I mean, you’re riding a bike, man,” Miller says with an easy smile.

“I love being outdoors. It’s so cool. It’s a sense of freedom.

“Some of the earliest moments, growing up on a farm (near Helmeringhausen) in the south of Namibia, far away from any civilization. Being in the backyard, building jumps, trying to jump as high as possible, as far as possible. Then doing some longer rides with my older brother (Thomas).”

His versatility extends to road cycling as well, which includes winning the national road race championship twice (in 2019, beating Dan Craven and Drikus Coetzee, and 2024).

Alex Miller's journey from a farm in Namibia to the global stage of the Olympics is a testament to his dedication, hard work and passion for mountain biking. With his eyes set on Olympic glory, Miller is poised to inspire a new generation of athletes from his homeland and beyond.

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Allgemeine Zeitung 2024-11-05

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Premier League: Fulham 2 vs 1 Brentford | Manchester United 1 vs 1 Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur 4 vs 1 Aston Villa | Wolves 2 vs 2 Crystal Palace | Southampton 1 vs 0 Everton | Nottingham Forest 3 vs 0 West Ham | Liverpool 2 vs 1 Brighton | Ipswich Town 1 vs 1 Leicester City | Bournemouth 2 vs 1 Manchester City | Newcastle 1 vs 0 Arsenal Katima Mulilo: 22° | 38° Rundu: 22° | 36° Eenhana: 20° | 36° Oshakati: 21° | 35° Ruacana: 20° | 36° Tsumeb: 24° | 33° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 33° Omaruru: 19° | 35° Windhoek: 17° | 33° Gobabis: 16° | 35° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 05:12, Low Tide: 23:16, High tide: 17:15 Swakopmund: 14° | 15° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:50, High tide: 05:10, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:13 Walvis Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:50, High tide: 05:09, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:12 Rehoboth: 15° | 35° Mariental: 14° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 13° | 33° Aranos: 14° | 36° Lüderitz: 15° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 10° | 30° Oranjemund: 15° | 31° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 19° | 36° Lubumbashi: 17° | 32° Mbabane: 12° | 22° Maseru: 6° | 26° Antananarivo: 17° | 28° Lilongwe: 24° | 33° Maputo: 18° | 26° Windhoek: 17° | 33° Cape Town: 13° | 22° Durban: 15° | 20° Johannesburg: 16° | 29° Dar es Salaam: 25° | 31° Lusaka: 21° | 35° Harare: 19° | 31° Currency: GBP to NAD 22.58 | EUR to NAD 18.98 | CNY to NAD 2.45 | USD to NAD 17.43 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.26 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.13 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.76 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.33 | USD to EGP 49.1 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1665.41 | USD to ZAR 17.44 | USD to ZMW 26.95 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1876.57 Up +0.49% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14300.12 Up +0.21% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30650.04 Down -0.59% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9845.11 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - 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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 742.88/OZ UP +0.25% | Copper US$ 4.47/lb UP +1.36% | Zinc US$ 3 084.30/T UP 1.35% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 75.83/BBP UP +0.33% | Platinum US$ 1 001.60/OZ UP +2.14%