Namibia competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics. 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

Namibia made its debut at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and appeared at all subsequent Games before the 2012 Summer Olympics in London - the country's sixth Olympics. Namibia sent its greatest number of athletes - 11 - to the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. The country's most successful athlete is

100 100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

runner

Frankie Fredericks Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's only ...

who won

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

in both disciplines at Namibia's inaugural Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, and at the Atlanta Olympics four years later. Fredericks, the only Namibian athlete to win an Olympic medal as of 2012, missed the Sydney Olympics in 2000 due to an

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

injury and was unsuccessful in his attempts to win further medals at his final Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

. Nine athletes were selected by Namibia to participate at the 2012 Olympics.

Trap shooter A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

Gaby Ahrens bore the flag for the country at the opening ceremony of the Games. She was joined in the Namibian Olympic team by

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

Marc Bassingthwaighte Marc Bassingthwaighte (born 21 October 1983) is a Namibian cyclist who specialises in cross-country events. Bassingthwaighte represented Namibia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he competed in the men's cross-country. He has als ...

and

Dan Craven Dan Craven (born 1 February 1983) is a Namibian racing cyclist, who last rode for Namibian amateur team NCCS Cycling Team. He is the grandson of Danie Craven, the South African rugby union icon. Craven started cycling seriously when he studied ...

; runners Tjipekapora Herunga,

Helalia Johannes Helalia Lukeiko Johannes (born 13 August 1980), also known as Hilaria Johannes, is a Namibian long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon. She holds the List of Namibian records in athletics, Namibian records in the 10 km, 20 ...

and Beata Naigambo; boxers Mujandjae Kasuto and Jonas Matheus; and

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

Naatele Sem Shilimela.

Athletics

Namibian 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): Olympic Stadium (London) illuminated, 3 August 2012

Olympic Stadium (London) illuminated, 3 August 2012

;Women

Boxing

Namibia has qualified two boxers. ;Men

Cycling

Namibia has qualified the following cyclists for the Games.

Road

Mountain biking

Shooting

Namibia has earned one quota place for shooting events; ;Women

Wrestling

Sem Shilimela Naatele Sem Shilimela (born 30 July 1991 in Etayi, Omusati Region) is a Namibian wrestler. He competed in the -55 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as ...

represented Namibia in London. Shilimela received a bye into the last 16, where he faced

Dzhamal Otarsultanov Dzhamal Sultanovich Otarsultanov (russian: Джамал Султанович Отарсултанов; born 14 April 1987 in Khasavyurtovsky District, Dagestan, Russia) is a male Chechen-Russian wrestler of Chechen heritage, who won the gold med ...

of Russia, losing 0–3 on points. Shilimela received a bye through the first round of the

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

, then again lost 0–3 on points to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

Yang Kyong-il Yang Kyong-Il ( or ; born 7 August 1989 in Pyongyang) is a male freestyle wrestler from North Korea who is a double world champion and won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Career Yang won his first world title at the 2009 Wo ...

in the second round. ;Men's freestyle

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namibia At The 2012 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...