Tanzania to be represented by one Paralympic athlete at Paris Olympics

By Joseph Mchekadona , The Guardian
Published at 02:13 PM Jul 29 2024
Olympics flag illustration
Photo: File
Olympics flag illustration

TANZANIA will be represented by one Paralympic athlete at the Paris Olympics, the country’s Paralympics committee (TPC) has announced.

TPC secretary general Vincent Kaduma said the Paralympic Games, slated for August 28 to September 8, will feature 4,400 athletes competing in twenty-two sports disciplines.

Tanzania's representative is 27-year-old Hilmy Shawwal, who will compete in wheelchair racing. 

Shawwal will participate in the Paris Paralympics on a wildcard entry and is currently training in the United Kingdom under his coach Jake Foster.

Kaduma added that despite the country having many capable disabled athletes, they failed to secure slots for the Paris Paralympic Games due to a lack of qualifying and classification opportunities.

The TPC official highlighted that the country lacks qualified classifiers, which forces local athletes to travel abroad for classification, a crucial process in disabled sports. 

Classification, governed by the International Paralympics Committee (IPC), determines which athletes are eligible to compete in sports and groups them together to minimize the impact of their impairments on performance, thus safeguarding the integrity of fair competition.

"We have many athletes who can excel at top events, and many of them could have performed well at the upcoming Paris Paralympic Games. However, they are not traveling to France because they did not qualify and are not classified. Only one athlete will represent the country at the Games," Kaduma said.

Kaduma expressed that TPC feels disabled athletes are neglected and sidelined. He called for inclusivity and financial support to allow them to compete at international events without hurdles.

"It's very painful that a country with many capable disabled athletes is being represented by only one athlete. Powerlifter Yohana Mwila, who represented the country at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and other international events, failed to make it due to a lack of classification. We also had runner Paul Nzala, who competes in the 100, 200, and 400 meters, but he failed to travel to Morocco for qualifiers last year,” he said.