Namibia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
| Namibia at the 2012 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | NAM |
| NOC | Namibian National Olympic Committee |
| in London | |
| Competitors | 9 in 5 sports |
| Flag bearers | Gaby Ahrens (opening)[1] Sem Shilimela (closing) |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Namibian National Olympic Committee sent a total of 9 athletes to the Games, 5 men and 4 women, to compete in 5 sports. Three Namibian athletes had competed in Beijing, including marathon runner Beata Naigambo, the oldest member of the team, at age 32, and trap shooter Gaby Ahrens, who became the nation's first female flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Namibia also marked its Olympic return in freestyle wrestling after an eight-year absence.
Namibia, however, failed to win a single Olympic medal for the fourth consecutive time.
Background
editNamibia made its debut at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and appeared at all subsequent Games before the 2012 Summer Olympics in London - the country's sixth Olympics.[2] Namibia sent its greatest number of athletes - 11 - to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[2] The country's most successful athlete is 100 and 200 metres runner Frankie Fredericks who won silver in both disciplines at Namibia's inaugural Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, and at the Atlanta Olympics four years later.[2] Fredericks, the only Namibian athlete to win an Olympic medal as of 2012, missed the Sydney Olympics in 2000 due to an Achilles injury and was unsuccessful in his attempts to win further medals at his final Olympics in Athens in 2004.[3][4]
Nine athletes were selected by Namibia to participate at the 2012 Olympics.[5] Trap shooter Gaby Ahrens bore the flag for the country at the opening ceremony of the Games.[6] She was joined in the Namibian Olympic team by cyclists Marc Bassingthwaighte and Dan Craven; runners Tjipekapora Herunga, Helalia Johannes and Beata Naigambo; boxers Mujandjae Kasuto and Jonas Matheus; and wrestler Naatele Sem Shilimela.[5]
Athletics
editNamibian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):[7][8]
- Key
- Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
- Q = Qualified for the next round
- q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
- NR = National record
- N/A = Round not applicable for the event
- Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
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- Women
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Tjipekapora Herunga | 400 m | 52.31 | 3 Q | 52.53 | 6 | Did not advance | |
| Helalia Johannes | Marathon | — | 2:26:09 | 12 | |||
| Beata Naigambo | — | 2:31:16 | 38 | ||||
Boxing
editNamibia has qualified two boxers.[9]
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | ||
| Jonas Matheus | Bantamweight |  Parrinello (ITA)L 7–18 |
Did not advance | ||||
| Mujandjae Kasuto | Middleweight |  Nazarov (TJK)W 11–8 |
 Harcsa (HUN)L 7–16 |
Did not advance | |||
Cycling
editNamibia has qualified the following cyclists for the Games.
Road
edit| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Craven | Men's road race | Did not finish | |
Mountain biking
edit| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marc Bassingthwaighte | Men's cross-country | 1:37:17 | 30 |
Shooting
editNamibia has earned one quota place for shooting events;[11]
- Women
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Rank | Points | Rank | ||
| Gaby Ahrens | Trap | 59 | 22 | Did not advance | |
Wrestling
editSem Shilimela represented Namibia in London. Shilimela received a bye into the last 16, where he faced Dzhamal Otarsultanov of Russia, losing 0–3 on points. Shilimela received a bye through the first round of the repechage, then again lost 0–3 on points to North Korean Yang Kyong-il in the second round.[12]
Key:
- VT - Victory by Fall.
- PP - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
- PO - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.
- Men's freestyle
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Final / BM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Opposition Result |
Rank | ||
| Sem Shilimela | −55 kg | Bye |  Otarsultanov (RUS)L 0–3 PO |
Did not advance | Bye |  Yang K-I (PRK)L 0–3 PO |
Did not advance | 15 | |
References
edit- ^ Staff (19 July 2012). "Namibia: Pohamba Bid Olympians Farewell". All Africa. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "Sports Reference – Namibia". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ Duncan Mackay. "A gentleman and a scholar". Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ "Sports Reference – Frankie Fredericks". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Sports Reference – Namibia". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ "Sports Reference – Gaby Ahrens". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – London 2012 ENTRY STANDARDS (PDF), IAAF, archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2012, retrieved 4 June 2011
- ^ "Final African Olympic Quota Places revealed". AIBA. 5 May 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ "Men Elite African Championships (RSA/CC) Cross Country 2011". UCI. 12 Feb 2011. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ^ "Quota places by NATION and Name". ISSF. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "Sports Reference – Naatele Shilimela". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2016.