Windhoek — In an effort to improve the performance of athletes at international sporting events, the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) on Tuesday announced a series of measures to ensure the country wins medals at future Olympic games.

The series of measures were announced following poor performances by the country's athletes at the just-ended inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday in the capital, the Chef de Mission of the Namibian delegation to Singapore, Ndeulipula Hamutumwa said athletes must change their attitude, step up to the plate, and develop a serious hunger to win.

Hamutumwa said Namibia should develop coaches and managers that are able to coach at the Olympic level. "We must thus ensure that we develop comprehensive criteria for selecting coaches to accompany the teams. Develop a culture of sport in Namibia by beginning to introduce young athletes to advanced competition at an early age."

He added that there is need for the development of a long-term talent identification programme and preparation strategies for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

The secretary general of the NNOC, Abner Xoagub said administrators and managers need to be more disciplined, committed, serious with their duties and have a change of attitude so that Namibian can improve their performance in international competitions.

The inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore ended on 26 August and Team Namibia was represented by Abraham Louw (Triathlon), Jason Afrikaner (Greco Wrestling), Anica Profitt (Rhythmic Gymnastics), Quinton Deli ( 100 and 200 meter Freestyle), Julia Handyene (1000m athletics) and Ndapandula Nghinaunye (3000m athletics).

Out of the six athletes who represented Namibia, Jason Afrikaner was the only athletes who returned to Namibia with a bronze medal in wrestling.