PARALYMPIANS BRING PRIDE TO SOUTH AFRICA
WE salute our South African gold medallists at the Tokyo Paralympics, with double amputee Ntando Mahlangu winning the men’s long jump title in the T63 class, and Anrune Weyers, whose left arm is amputated below the elbow, becoming the champion in the women’s 400m T47 category.
It has been a rough time of late for South Africa in the sports arena.
There has been drama around the Proteas team, and local cricket in general, following the revelations about how players of colour have been treated in the past, at the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings.
Then, Team SA battled at the Tokyo Olympics.
Despite sending the largest group ever, of more than 180 athletes to the Games, they only secured three medals – two by swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker, and a silver from surfer Bianca Buitendag.
That was followed by the controversy over whether financial incentives would be paid to Schoenmaker and Buitendag, as well as any of the South African Paralympic medallists, with Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa eventually confirming last week that they would be rewarded.
The Springboks carried the flag for Mzansi, by beating the British and Irish Lions in a three-Test series, and are now in Australia to defend their Rugby Championship title over the next six weeks.
So, the success of Mahlangu and Weyers, at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday, provided some much-needed inspiration and excitement, considering the challenging paths all Paralympic athletes have to take to excel on the global stage.
Mahlangu secured his first Paralympics medal as a 14-year-old, at Rio 2016, in the 200 metres, and he had to pull out all the stops in his final jump on Saturday to clinch a gold – with a leap of 7.17m.
Weyers, the 2019 world champion and three-time medallist at previous Paralympics, cruised to victory on Saturday and was overcome with emotion, as she had recovered from Covid-19 just a month ago.
They were both congratulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who described their performances as “outstanding”.
And Mahlangu is not done yet, as he will compete in the 200m this week. We all hope that there will be even more Team SA medallists in the coming days.