In the build up to the Paris Olympic Games, kicking off on 26 July 2024, South African sports stars and athletes are gearing up to make their country proud and hopefully bring home a couple medals. 🏅
The Paralympics are also scheduled to start with a bang in less than a 100 days, on 28 August, and Team South Africa is already warming up with a commendable showing at the Para Athletics World Championships in Kobe, Japan.
South African sprinter Mpumelelo Mhlongo clinched the gold medal in the T44 men’s 100m race, crossing the finish line in 11.34 seconds, and leaving his competitors trailing by 0.43 seconds.
The T44 category is for athletes with below-knee amputation or those who can walk with moderate functional impairment in one or both legs. (This happens to be the category South Africa’s forsaken golden boy, Oscar Pistorius, used to compete in…)
Alongside Mhlongo’s gold, Liezel Gouws secured bronze in the women’s 400m T37 (Category for co-ordination impairments) with a season-best time of 1:08.23.
Louzanne Coetzee, with her guide Estean Badenhorst, added another bronze in the women’s 1500m T11 (Category for Vision impairment), finishing in 4:50.78. These early wins are a great boost as South African athletes gear up for Paris.
The excitement isn’t limited to the Paralympians. South African fencer Harry Saner has made headlines by securing a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, becoming the first fencer to represent South Africa at the Olympics since 2008.
On May 15, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) announced the first squad of 39 athletes who will represent the team SA squad at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The squad includes big names like swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker, sprinters Wayde van Niekerk and Akani Simbine, and surfer Jordy Smith. These athletes, along with many others, have been working hard and competing to lock in their spots for Paris. Sweetheart swimmer Chad le Clos is also in the squad to represent SA in the pool, and hungry to, once again, secure a spot on the podium.
If the honor of making the Olympic team is not enough to motivate these athletes, SASCOC has laid out some substantial cash incentives. Gold medalists will receive R400,000, while their coaches will get R100,000. Silver and bronze medalists, along with their coaches, will also receive financial rewards. These incentives aim to encourage athletes to perform at their best and bring glory to the nation, although most athlete consider this a secondary factor to their performance, according to Swimmer Tatjana Smith.
As we count down to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, our athletes are showing the world what South African grit and determination are all about. With Mhlongo’s golden sprint, stellar performances in Kobe, and Harry Saner’s historic qualification, Team SA is ready to dazzle in Paris.
