Para-athletes to do us proud

A 15-YEAR-OLD Paralympic silver medallist is among a group of 17 para-athletes who will compete at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) World Games in Portugal. The team leaves today. This year marks the seventh edition of the Games, which will take place in Vila Real de Santo Antonio from tomorrow to December 6.

The Games were established to provide international sporting opportunities for athletes with physical impairments.

Ntando Mahlangu, 15, is a member of Is Ability Sport, based in Pretoria, which recently won Sport Club of the Year for the Physically Disabled at the Gauteng Sport Awards.

The team headed for Portugal includes four junior athletes – Emile Burgers, Megan Croucamp, Kim MacDonald and Puseletso Mabote – who are beneficiaries of the Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund, as well as two of the fund’s young ambassadors, Junior Mavuso and Ntando.

“Our vision is to create access to prosthetic equipment, but also access to better education and sport. The IWAS World Games provides a perfect opportunity for our participating kids and ambassadors to gain international experience on and off the sportsfield.

“We are proud to sponsor these six young athletes, a feat we could not have accomplished without the assistance of Ottobock South Africa, our partner in this project to ensure our young amputees have access to high-activity prosthetic equipment. It is a collaboration we hope to develop further into the SADC region,” said Jumping Kids spokesperson Michael Stevens.

Jumping Kids provides children living with lower limb amputation access to prosthetic equipment and rehabilitation.

It uses sport “as an important rehabilitation tool, and the fund has helped develop many talented young athletes”.

The Games will host athletes from across the globe in five different sports codes – archery, athletics, swimming, table tennis and para taekwondo.