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Namibia: Olympic Qualifying Standards to Remain
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
23 April 2008
Posted to the web 23 April 2008
The secretary general of the Namibia Olympic Committee, Abner Xoagub, has reiterated that athletes who qualified for the Olympic Games last year need to do so again this year.
Namibian middle-distance champion Agnes Samaria last week expressed dismay that she would have to qualify again after she set qualifying times for both the 800m and the 1 500m last year.
The NOC however resolved that athletes who qualified last year need to qualify again this year to book their tickets to Beijing.
Xoagub remained steadfast, saying that all athletes had to abide by their rules.
"We felt that an athlete needs to be in top shape to go to the Olympics, and therefore, those that qualified last year should qualify again this year.
Agnes qualified in October 2007 but the Games are in August 2008 so she needs to improve her performance.
"She should have the right attitude and see it as a challenge to meet the qualifying criteria again and show that she is worthy and ready to do well," he added.
Goaxub said that Samaria, along with other athletes who still have a chance of qualifying for Beijing, would now compete at the African Athletics Championships in Ethiopia at the end of April.
"Agnes is a senior athlete and she must serve as a role model to Namibia's other athletes and motivate them to do better.
Look at Beata Naigambo for instance.
When she discovered that she had to qualify again, she didn't complain.
She took up the challenge and qualified again at a marathon in North Korea and will now go to Beijing."
Samaria meanwhile said that she did not want to make any further statements on the issue and was instead focusing on qualifying for the Olympics again.
"I don't want to get involved in the politics of this anymore.
Now I just want to focus on my athletics and am now preparing for the African Championships in Ethiopia.
After that there will still be time to qualify till the end of July, so I'm confident that I can make it," she said.
Fredericks issues statement Meanwhile Frank Fredericks issued a press release saying that he never received special treatment at the Olympics.
Fredericks said he never had to qualify twice for the Olympics because he had beaten the qualifying times on countless occasions.
Between 1991 and 1992 he qualified 18 times in the 100m and 11 times in the 200m, while he won two medals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
Between 1995 and 1996 he qualified 19 times in the 100m and 11 times in the 200m and once again won two silver medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
In 1999 and 2000 he qualified 12 times in the 100m and 12 times in the 200m, but had to pull out of the Sydney Olympics due to injury.
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In 2003 and 2004 he qualified 11 times in the 100m and 18 times in the 200m and finished fourth in the 200m final at the Athens Olympic Games.
"It was an honour for me to compete for our beloved country and how quickly do we forget.
It was never a right, but a privilege to compete for Namibia," he said.
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