GOLD MEDALS FOR COURAGE!
Athletes with disabilities hope to build on the 29 medals they won in London
WHILE the other girls in her class were preparing for their matric dance in April, Alani Ferreira was 7 248km away in Rio de Janeiro, qualifying for the 2016 Paralympics.
The 18-year-old partially sighted swimmer is among three pupils in South Africa’s Paralympic squad who are leaving this week to compete in Brazil.
“I did cry because I always wanted to wear a pretty dress, but then I realised it was only a dance and being in Rio meant I could live my dream,” said Ferreira, a matric pupil at Epworth School in Pietermaritzburg.
She will compete in the 100m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 100m backstroke.
“It’s very hard balancing it all. I’ve missed some school and it’s hard catching up in some subjects. Hopefully I’ll be fine by the final exam and will get the marks that I need.”
Each of this year’s 44 team members have a story of inspiration to tell: swimmer Achmat Hassiem lost his leg in a shark attack; powerlifter Chantelle Stierman has been in a wheelchair since a car accident when she was three; javelin thrower Reinhardt Hamman’s father died earlier this year; and amputee Tyrone Pillay trained himself in shot put by watching YouTube videos.
The team will leave from OR Tambo on Wednesday. And although this year’s team is smaller than the 62-strong squad that brought home 29 medals from London in 2012, they are hoping to increase the haul.
Veterans tipped to bring back gold from Rio include sprinters Charl du Toit and Ilse Hayes, who won bronze in Athens in 2004 and gold in Beijing in 2008; gold medallist Kevin Paul in swimming; and silver and bronze medallist long jumper and sprinter Dyan Buis.
Also tipped for gold is Ernst van Wyk, who competes in athletics, cycling and swimming. This will be his seventh Paralympics in a row.
It shouldn’t be hard for Hamman, the world’s No 1 javelin thrower, to grab gold. The 26-year-old from Strand in the Western Cape was born with cerebral palsy, but when he was first handed a javelin, he “threw it out of the school grounds”.
Hamman’s dad, Louis, his coach for 10 years, died in March of heart failure and a stroke. ‘‘It was just a few days before I had to go for the national championships in Bloemfontein to qualify for Rio, but I knew my dad would want me to do it.
“It’s been a rough couple of months, but Dad wouldn’t want me to feel sorry for myself. We were very close,” Hamman said.
The youngest member of the team, Grade 7 double amputee Ntando Mahlangu, 14, said: “I worked hard to run the times and many people worked in the background to help me get here . . . I can’t wait to be in Rio.” He will compete in the 100m and 200m sprints.
Pillay, from Durban, is glad that his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer, will be well enough to travel to Rio to watch him compete at his first Paralympics.
Born with an abnormality, Pillay has a prosthetic foot. He is categorised as an above-knee amputee and is ranked fourth in the world.
“When it was announced that I made the team, I was on a plane from Berlin . . . I was quite emotional . . . since I was three years old I have dreamt of being a South African athlete.”
Team leader Leon Fleisher said: “We will probably get a lot of our medals in athletics and it’s difficult to single out one person. There are several who are likely to bring home gold.”
Although several veterans would be returning, newcomers shouldn’t be ignored.
“Ntando is young but he’s fast. I think he going to do really well,” Fleisher said.
❛ It was only a dance and being in Rio meant I could live my dream