Shooters to honour Sven Ahrens

… Namibian, Angolan events planned to celebrate his passion

By John Tuerijama
THE Namibian shoot­ing fraternity will on 14 October compete in the first-ever Sven Ahrens Memorial Shooting Competition, sched­uled to take place in the capital, in honour of one of the country’s most passionate shooters, who committed suicide last year.
Hasso Ahrens, Sven’s father, told Confidente this week that it has been a year since his beloved son committed suicide.
He said his late son was pas­sionate about the sport and al­though he did not represent his country at the Olympic Games, he did take part in national and club competitions.
“He did much to develop the sport of shooting. Sven was a pas­sionate and disciplined shooter, who contributed immensely to the sport. The event is going to be annual competition that will see close to 14 shooters competing in remembering the contribu­tion made by Sven,” the grieving father said.
The competition will be hosted by the Clay Target Club Wind­hoek, at the Neuweiler Shooting Range, situated east of the capital.
“The Ahrens family, togeth­er with the sport shooting and hunting organisations of Namib­ia and Angola will organise the shooting competition in honour of their son and brother. A beau­tiful edition of floating trophies, cups, medals and pins were craft­ed in Germany and have arrived in time to be awarded at the an­nual shooting competition,” the shooting competition or­ganisers said.
T h e C l a y Target C l u b W i n d ­hoek said that shotgun shoot­ers will test their skills at hitting clay targets out of the sky, while the Namibia Rifle and Hunting Asso­ciation will compete with high-powered calibre rifles at Farm Zonnewald in Stampri­et on 11 November, at a separate event.
The organisers said that the Angolan Clay Target Shooting Federation will also host the Sven Ahrens Memorial Shoot at the NNN Farm, near Lubango, from 17 to 19 November, during their Angolan Olympic Trap Shooting Championships.
“Sven is sorely missed amongst the shooting and hunting com­munity. He was a big sponsor and supporter of the sport shooting industry in Namibia.
“He was a top shooting com­p e t i t o r himsel f and had sponsored the sport shooting commu­nity for many years, and represented the country in all the dif­ferent shooting catego­ries, and has won many competitions, while his personality was wel­comed by many who knew him.”
“While each medal winner will win a trophy, the main float­ing trophy will remain with the shooting organisations and will be awarded annually,” Hasso said.
The Namibian police reported late last year that Sven’s body was found by a newspaper delivery man, a few metres from his home in Finkenstein on the eastern out­skirts of Windhoek.
It was reported that the 42-year-old shot himself with his own licensed 9mm pistol, and left a note addressed to his wife.
He was the owner of Ahrens Guns & Ammunition in the capital. Sven was the brother of retired top shooter Gaby Ahrens, who last represented the country at the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Apart from being respected for his gun expertise, Sven was also actively involved in the sport and was known to give support through sponsorships and in kind. Sven represented Namibia at the Hunting Rifle Shooting As­sociation World Games.
His father is also known in shooting circles, and is said to have accompanied Gaby to the Rio Summer Games.

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