The new Johanna Benson Foundation has been established with the help of national and sport governing bodies, including Disability Sport Namibia and the Sport Commission of Namibia, and its aim is to ensure that disabled athletes who have the potential to compete at the highest level will be given the support and resources they need to follow in the footsteps of Benson.

The 23-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, became a national hero in Namibia last year after she claimed her country's first ever Paralympic gold medal with victory in the T37 200 metres at London 2012, after also securing a silver medal in the T37 100m.

Benson, whose first major international medal came at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, where she took home a bronze, was joined at the official launch of the new foundation by Namibia's first President Sam Nujoma as well as the chief executive officer of the National Disability Council of Namibia, Martin Limbo, along with Joseph Ndinomupya, a council member of the National Disability Council of Namibia, and the secretary general of Disability Sport Namibia, Drusilla Kandjii.

"I am excited to meet the former President and I am excited by the Johanna Benson Foundation," said the woman from Walvis Bay, who followed up her exploits in London, with two bronze medals at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Lyon earlier this year.

"There are a lot of talented athletes in Namibia and this foundation will be able to help other upcoming athletes."

Benson has capped a magnificent year by being shortlisted for the 2013 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.

The Johanna Benson Foundation hopes to uncover Namibia's next Paralympic champion