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Guillaume Junior Atangana added a second bronze medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team with guide Donard Ndim Nyamjua. Photo: Getty Images
Guillaume Junior Atangana added a second bronze medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team with guide Donard Ndim Nyamjua. Photo: Getty Images

Atangana wins second medal for Refugee Team

Athletics
Guillaume Junior Atangana ran an outstanding race at Stade de France on Sunday, taking third place in the men’s 400m T11 in a personal best time of 50:89 and securing a historic second medal for the Refugee Team at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The 25-year-old Cameroonian was a flagbearer of the Refugee Team during the opening ceremony.

“I am very happy to have this medal. It shows that the Paralympic movement is galvanising for refugees and it is an honour for me. I wrote my name in history,” said the sprinter, widely known as Junior.

“The message I have for all refugees in the world is to believe in yourself!”

Junior’s success follows the Refugee Paralympic Team’s first-ever medal last Thursday, when Zakia Khudadadi won bronze in her Para taekwondo K44 under-47 kg category.

Before the Games, Junior stated his ambitions to win a medal and to break the world record, saying, “We will show what refugees can do!”

His performances have matched his words with three consecutive personal best times over two days of track events. On Saturday, alongside his guide runner and fellow refugee Donard Ndim Nyamjua, Junior achieved a personal best of 51:95 in his opening heat, followed with a second personal best of 51:03 in the semi-final to secure his spot in Sunday’s final as the second-fastest qualifier behind France’s Timothee Adolphe.

The vision-impaired sprinter, who competes blindfolded, will also compete in the 100 metres later in the Games, again with Nyamjua as his guide.

During his early childhood, Junior’s vision failed gradually until, by the age of 12, he had lost his sight entirely, ending his dreams of playing professional football.

Running helped restore his confidence and his love of sports. “When I’d just lost my sight, it wasn’t easy for me; I was worried about walking. But when I ran, I didn’t feel worried,” he said.

Junior said competing in Paris sends a message to other refugees and people with disabilities that “anything is possible”.

“I want to show the world that being blind doesn’t mean your life is over; you can still do great things,” he said.



Growing numbers

Together with seven other Para athletes competing across six sports, Junior and his running partners are part of the largest-ever Refugee Paralympic Team, representing the hopes and dreams of 120 million forcibly displaced people around the world, including an estimated 18 million with disabilities.

This is the third time the Refugee Team is competing at the Paralympic Games. The first team, comprised of two refugee athletes, competed at the Rio 2016 Games. The team grew to six for Tokyo 2020 and in Paris, the eight athletes and two guide runners are competing in six of the 22 sports – Para athletics, Para powerlifting, Para table tennis, Para taekwondo, Para triathlon, and wheelchair fencing.

Also on Sunday, Sayed Amir Hossein Pour competed in Para table tennis, losing out to Thailand’s Phisit Wangphonphathanasiri in the opening round.

With two medals already, the Refugee Paralympic Team is surpassing the extraordinary achievement of the Refugee Olympic Team which had historic success at Paris 2024, winning its first medal, a bronze in women’s boxing.

– Source Paralympic.org

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Allgemeine Zeitung 2024-10-12

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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$ 2 657.18/OZ UP +0.91% | Copper US$ 4.47/lb UP +1.10% | Zinc US$ 3 171.30/T DOWN -0.03% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 79.33/BBP DOWN -0.0052 | Platinum US$ 984.46/OZ UP +1.35% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 17° | 36° Rundu: 17° | 35° Eenhana: 19° | 37° Oshakati: 20° | 37° Ruacana: 20° | 37° Tsumeb: 23° | 34° Otjiwarongo: 19° | 33° Omaruru: 23° | 37° Windhoek: 20° | 33° Gobabis: 21° | 33° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 04:48, High tide: 11:26, Low Tide: 17:44, High tide: 00:02 Swakopmund: 14° | 16° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 04:46, High tide: 11:24, Low Tide: 17:42, High tide: 00:00 Walvis Bay: 14° | 23° Wind speed: 39km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 04:46, High tide: 11:23, Low Tide: 17:42, High tide: 23:59 Rehoboth: 20° | 34° Mariental: 23° | 38° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 38° Aranos: 21° | 37° Lüderitz: 15° | 30° Ariamsvlei: 23° | 39° Oranjemund: 13° | 20° Luanda: 24° | 25° Gaborone: 21° | 35° Lubumbashi: 18° | 33° Mbabane: 16° | 32° Maseru: 17° | 32° Antananarivo: 10° | 27° Lilongwe: 22° | 32° Maputo: 20° | 33° Windhoek: 20° | 33° Cape Town: 14° | 21° Durban: 18° | 25° Johannesburg: 20° | 31° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 30° Lusaka: 20° | 32° Harare: 18° | 31° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.69 | EUR to NAD 19.02 | CNY to NAD 2.46 | USD to NAD 17.4 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.27 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.13 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.08 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.83 | USD to AOA 909.1 | USD to BWP 13.28 | USD to EGP 48.53 | USD to KES 128.5 | USD to NGN 1625.33 | USD to ZAR 17.39 | USD to ZMW 26.4 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1854.97 Up +1.41% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14101.61 Down -0.01% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30762.32 Down -1.33% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 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 - 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$ 2 657.18/OZ UP +0.91% | Copper US$ 4.47/lb UP +1.10% | Zinc US$ 3 171.30/T DOWN -0.03% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 79.33/BBP DOWN -0.0052 | Platinum US$ 984.46/OZ UP +1.35%