NAMIBIA'S 2009 sportswoman and man of the year, Heletje van Staden and Paulus Moses, were given cheques of N$10 000 each for winning the titles late last month.

MTC yesterday gave the cheques to the two athletes who delivered excellent performances in their respective disciplines this year.

Moses is the current World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight world champion, while Van Staden, who is only 21 years of age, is the Under-23 African mountain bike champion.

Van Staden, who studies at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, said her main aim is to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, but her immediate aim is to take part in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, next year.

Van Staden is doing a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) course and wishes to hold cycling skills clinics when she completes her studies next year.

Van Staden said she is worried about the little or no interest shown by Namibian women in cycling and aims to reverse that trend.

"I really want to encourage more women to take part in cycling.

But overall, it will be nice to see that cycling in Namibia becomes more popular, grow and prosper," she said.

Van Staden is a four-time The Namibian Model Pick n Pay Cycle Classic champion, while she is the defending champion of the Under-23 Cross Country Mountain Biking Championship that she won in George South Africa this year.

She also won the three-day Saniz C race in Kwazulu Natal this year and is undoubtedly Namibia's top female cyclist.

Moses was not present at the event, which was also attended by Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) chief administrator Rusten Mogane.

Moses is the first Namibian lightweight world champion and is set to defend his title against Mexico's legendary boxer Marco Antonio Barrera early next year.