5 Facts About...Ananias Shikongo

The Namibian visually impaired sprinter competes in the T11 class, where Para athletes wear a blindfold. Winner of the 200m T11 as well as 100m and 400m T11 bronze at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Shikongo will be hoping to add a world title to his collection this summer, alongside his guide Even Tjiviju.

Five Facts About Ananias Shikongo

1)When Shikongo was four-years-old he lost his left eye in an 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 him losing sight in that eye too.

2) He began athletics aged 14 at Eluwa Special School in Ongwediva, Namibia.

3) The 30-year-old made his senior international track debut in 2004.

4) His hero is Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks -when Shikongo won Paralympic gold at Rio 2016 he became the first Namibian man to win an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal.

5) He has finished on the podium at the last three World Championships but has yet to win gold. “I’m hungry to be the world champion because I’m just the Paralympic champion, and now I want to get the world title too,” he said.