Special Olympics Malawi gears up for Pan African Games
Special Olympics Malawi (Som) is hoping to win more medals at the First Pan African Games set for Cairo, Egypt from January 23 to 31.
The body has selected Clara Phiri, Agness Lekaleka Masuso, Wema Supuliyano, Phillies Supuliyano and Desire Namaona to represent the country at the games.
Som National Director, Edin Mauluka, said being the first games they have selected top athletes to help the country shine.
“We believe we have selected the best. Of course, the selection was done based on performance at the last national games held in 2018.
We were unable to hold similar championship last year due to lack of resources,” she said.
Mauluka hopes that the squad was well balanced to win medals at the event.
“One athlete is from the Northern Region with Central and Southern Regions contributing two each. Three of these athletes have participated in Special Olympics World Games and have brought medals home. So we are confident that we will win medals as some of these athletes have experience,” she said.
The first-ever Special Olympics Pan African Games will be held in Egypt under the auspices of the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Chairperson of the African Union.
More than 1,000 volunteers and 100,000 spectators will join together in selected venues in Cairo to celebrate the accomplishments of over 1,000 athletes from 47 Special Olympics Countries around the African Continent.
Malawi athletes will compete in 100m, 200m and 800m relay.
Som has in recent years collected 52 different medals following success in competitions such as the Summer World Games in Abu Dhabi held in March 2019.
The body, through work in sports, health, education and community building, is addressing inactivity, injustice, intolerance and social isolation by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities which leads to a more welcoming and inclusive society.
