NAIROBI, Kenya, August 31 – Kenya’s Sheila Wanyonyi admits she needs to improve on her self-confidence if she is to shine on the international stage.
The Paralympian has put this on top of her to-do list even as she returns home from the Paris Paralympics.
“The lesson I have learnt from this competition is that I should believe in myself. I shouldn’t be intimidated by what other people are doing. I should take what I know and use it to get what I want. First of all I am going to work on my self-confidence,” Wanyonyi said.
The Gender Studies and Development expert further plans to spend more time in the gym to improve on her strength.
“When I went to the gym, I found a lot of people there training and there were a lot of facilities. Most of these facilities we don’t have in Kenya but I think I can use whatever I have to improve on myself,” she said.
Wanyonyi’s journey at the Paris Paralympics came to an end after finishing ninth in the women’s javelin F12 – after an overall throw of 28.44m.
China’s Yhuping Zhao threw a new world record of 47.06m to take gold, ahead of Neutral Paralympic Athlete (NPA) Anna Sorokina-Kulinich (38.10m) and Austria’s Natalija Eder (37.22m) in second and third respectively.
Reflecting on her performance, Wanyonyi admitted it was not what she wanted from Paris.
“I know I am not the best but I have tried to be where I am now. I take it as a lesson so next time when I come here I will take it as a challenge to do better and be where I want to be,” she said.
Kenya is thus far waiting for its first medal of the championships with none of its athletes able to finish in the podium thus far.
