Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
TikTok
Imagen
T11 sprinter Shikongo made history at Rio 2016 by becoming the first Namibian man to win an Olympic or Paralympic gold, something even his hero Frankie Fredericks never achieved. He follows in the footsteps of fellow sprinter Johanna Benson who was Namibia’s first ever gold medallist when she won a Paralympic title at London 2012.
Shikongo’s first race in Rio saw him win bronze in the 100m, lowering the African record in both the heats and final, eventually clocking 11.11 seconds.
In his preferred distance of 200m, he broke the Paralympic record twice, first in the semi-finals with 22.48, before he lowered it to 22.44 in the final, a time good enough to give him gold.
Capping off a memorable Rio 2016, Shikongo set two personal bests on his way to 400m T11 bronze.
Chelsea FC fan Shikongo lost his left eye aged three in a shooting accident as his brother tried to shoot birds using a bow and arrow. Three years later, while working in a field, a donkey kicked him in his right eye, resulting in the loss of sight in that eye too.
He took up Para athletics at age 14 and made his international debut in 2004. He competed at London 2012 but a hamstring injury limited his performances. He has also competed in three World Championships. In 2013 and 2015 he won silver in the 200m T11 and in 2013 also has previously won bronze over 400m in 2011 and 100m in 2013.
Biography
Impairment information
Type of Impairment
Vision impairment
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Guide
Even Tjiviju; Sem Shimanda
Further personal information
Family
Son Isaac [2014]
Residence
Windhoek, NAM
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
English
Higher education
Marketing - Namibia University of Science and Technology: Windhoek, NAM
Sport specific information
When and where did you begin this sport?
He took up athletics in 1996 at Eluwa Special School in Ongwediva, Namibia.
Why this sport?
"It was part of the school curriculum."
Club / Team
Namib Lions Adaptive Sport Academy [NLASA]: Namibia
Name of coach
Letu Hamola [personal], NAM, from 2018
International debut
Year
2011
Competing for
Namibia
General interest
Nicknames
Page (observer.com.na, 14 Feb 2013)
Hobbies
Football. (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning a gold medal in the T11 200m at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019)
Most influential person in career
Namibian sprinter Frankie Fredericks. (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019)
Hero / Idol
Namibian sprinter Frankie Fredericks. (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019)
Injuries
He suffered from a hamstring injury while competing at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. (namibian.com.na, 14 Apr 2016)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Never stop training." (Athlete, 23 Oct 2015)
Awards and honours
He was Namibia's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (thesouthafrican.com, 12 Apr 2018)
He was given the Sporting Achievement Award and the Sportsman of the Year with a Disability Award at the 2016 Namibia Sports Commission Sports Awards. (insidethegames.biz, 31 Oct 2016)
He received a sporting achievement award from Disability Sports Namibia in 2015. (namibiansun.com, 19 Oct 2015)
He was Namibia's flag bearer at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. (namibiasport.com.na, 19 Dec 2011)
He was given the Sporting Achievement Award and the Sportsman of the Year with a Disability Award at the 2016 Namibia Sports Commission Sports Awards. (insidethegames.biz, 31 Oct 2016)
He received a sporting achievement award from Disability Sports Namibia in 2015. (namibiansun.com, 19 Oct 2015)
He was Namibia's flag bearer at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. (namibiasport.com.na, 19 Dec 2011)
Ambitions
To defend his T11 200m title at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (thesouthafrican.com, 12 Apr 2018; thepatriot.com.na, 09 Feb 2018)
Impairment
He lost his left eye in an accident at age three when his brother tried to shoot birds using a bow and arrow. Three years later he lost the vision in his right eye after he was kicked by a donkey. "My parents encouraged me all the time, saying that I was not the only visually impaired person in the world. They also found me a school for the visually impaired. In the beginning I had to have a guide to walk, but later I learned how to walk with a cane and after that I did not even need a cane anymore." (namibian.com.na, 14 Apr 2016; namibiasport.com.na, 19 Dec 2011)
Other information
POSTPONED RETIREMENT
He initially planned to retire after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. He then decided to even go further and pursue the 2024 Games in Paris after the 2020 Games was postponed. He said he gained a renewed motivation. "I have to confess that I wasn't ready. I felt I was not in top shape had the Games been held in the summer of 2020. The extra year would help me to get back into shape and be at my peak. I want to retire after the 2024 Games in Paris. I am still strong mentally, physically and spiritually." (neweralive.na, 29 Oct 2020; confidentenamibia.com, 09 Jul 2020)
FOUNDATION
In 2016 he co-founded the Sport on the Move Foundation, which aims to offer support to Namibian Para athletes. The project began in 2015 as the Run4Rio initiative, created by Dutch communications professional Elisa Ostet to help Namibian Para athletes prepare for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He also took up a course in marketing to acquire skills in promoting Para sports through the foundation. "Ostet has changed a lot in my life. She started creating a website for me, looking at creating income. It was a way of supporting me while she was very far away in Europe and I was in Africa. After Rio [2016 Paralympic Games] the main [drive] was to create a foundation, for the support Elisa and my friends and others were giving me. I wanted to create a foundation because it is not only me. My friends, my [training] partners, I know they were suffering the same way I had been suffering. I decided to enrol in a marketing course at a local university so as to acquire skills which would help me communicate better with authorities. There is very little awareness about Para sports and the change that it can bring for the impaired. I want to raise funds through the foundation to assist potential athletes, make them competition ready and that can be only be possible if their day-to-day life is secure." (neweralive.na, 29 Oct 2020; sportonthemove.org, Sep 30 2019; paralympic.org, 18 Sep 2019; southerntimesafrica.com, 02 Mar 2019)
FURTHER EDUCATION
In 2020 he completed a course in physiotherapy at the Nomad Institute in Windhoek, Namibia. "The struggles of an athlete are unending. We are put in the hands of so many physiotherapists and not all do a good job. At times we do not get the best massages during competitions and it affects performance. Now that I have been in good and bad hands, I feel I am in a better position to say what athletes need." (Sport on the Move Foundation Facebook page, 22 Feb 2020; thenational.ae, 14 Nov 2019; thepatriot.com.na, 03 Aug 2018)
He initially planned to retire after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. He then decided to even go further and pursue the 2024 Games in Paris after the 2020 Games was postponed. He said he gained a renewed motivation. "I have to confess that I wasn't ready. I felt I was not in top shape had the Games been held in the summer of 2020. The extra year would help me to get back into shape and be at my peak. I want to retire after the 2024 Games in Paris. I am still strong mentally, physically and spiritually." (neweralive.na, 29 Oct 2020; confidentenamibia.com, 09 Jul 2020)
FOUNDATION
In 2016 he co-founded the Sport on the Move Foundation, which aims to offer support to Namibian Para athletes. The project began in 2015 as the Run4Rio initiative, created by Dutch communications professional Elisa Ostet to help Namibian Para athletes prepare for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He also took up a course in marketing to acquire skills in promoting Para sports through the foundation. "Ostet has changed a lot in my life. She started creating a website for me, looking at creating income. It was a way of supporting me while she was very far away in Europe and I was in Africa. After Rio [2016 Paralympic Games] the main [drive] was to create a foundation, for the support Elisa and my friends and others were giving me. I wanted to create a foundation because it is not only me. My friends, my [training] partners, I know they were suffering the same way I had been suffering. I decided to enrol in a marketing course at a local university so as to acquire skills which would help me communicate better with authorities. There is very little awareness about Para sports and the change that it can bring for the impaired. I want to raise funds through the foundation to assist potential athletes, make them competition ready and that can be only be possible if their day-to-day life is secure." (neweralive.na, 29 Oct 2020; sportonthemove.org, Sep 30 2019; paralympic.org, 18 Sep 2019; southerntimesafrica.com, 02 Mar 2019)
FURTHER EDUCATION
In 2020 he completed a course in physiotherapy at the Nomad Institute in Windhoek, Namibia. "The struggles of an athlete are unending. We are put in the hands of so many physiotherapists and not all do a good job. At times we do not get the best massages during competitions and it affects performance. Now that I have been in good and bad hands, I feel I am in a better position to say what athletes need." (Sport on the Move Foundation Facebook page, 22 Feb 2020; thenational.ae, 14 Nov 2019; thepatriot.com.na, 03 Aug 2018)
Results
| Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 100 m T11 | Heat 2 | 2011-01-22 | 4 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Heat 1 | 2011-01-26 | 2 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Final | 2011-01-27 | 3 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 1 | 2011-01-28 | 4 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2012-09-03 | 2 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2012-09-04 | 3 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2012-09-06 | 2 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2012-09-07 | 3 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2012-09-07 | 3 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2013-07-20 | 1 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Semifinal 1 | 2013-07-20 | 2 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Final 1 | 2013-07-21 | 2 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2013-07-25 | 1 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Semifinal 1 | 2013-07-25 | 3 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Final 1 | 2013-07-26 | 3 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Semifinal 1 | 2013-07-26 | 4 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Final 1 | 2013-07-27 | 4 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 400 m T11 | Heat 2 | 2015-10-25 | 5 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2015-10-28 | 2 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Semifinal 2 | 2015-10-29 | 4 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Final 1 | 2015-10-29 | 2 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 100 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2016-09-10 | 1 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Heat 1 | 2016-09-10 | 1 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Final Round | 2016-09-11 | 3 | |
| Men's 4x100 m T11-13 | Heat 2 | 2016-09-12 | 2 | |
| Men's 4x100 m T11-13 | Final Round | 2016-09-13 | 4 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 2 | 2016-09-13 | 1 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 1 | 2016-09-14 | 1 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Final Round | 2016-09-15 | 1 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2016-09-16 | 2 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Final Round | 2016-09-17 | 3 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 100 m T11 | Final 1 | 2017-07-15 | 2 | |
| Men's 100 m T11 | Heat 2 | 2017-07-15 | 2 | |
| Men's 400 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2017-07-16 | 7 | |
| Men's 200 m T11 | Heat 3 | 2017-07-20 | 5 |
