{"id":5678,"date":"2021-09-13T09:36:18","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T07:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disabilityconnect.co.za\/?p=5678"},"modified":"2021-09-13T09:36:18","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T07:36:18","slug":"ntando-mahlangu-leads-team-south-africas-paralympians-in-medal-haul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/13\/ntando-mahlangu-leads-team-south-africas-paralympians-in-medal-haul\/","title":{"rendered":"Ntando Mahlangu leads Team South Africa\u2019s Paralympians in medal haul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sprinter Anrun\u00e9 Weyers and paracyclist Pieter du Preez won gold medals, while there was a silver for 1,500m runner Louzanne Coetzee and a bronze for Sheryl James (T37 400m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahlangu picked up a surprising gold in the men\u2019s T63 long jump with a leap of 7.17m and then added the T61 200m title to his already bulging set of accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s only just turned 19 and is still in his matric year at Afrikaanse Ho\u00ebr Seunskool (Affies) in Pretoria. He really does have the world at his feet, or in his case, at the end of his blades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It continued his upward trajectory that was obvious in Rio five years ago when he won a 200m silver as a 14-year-old. He has also clocked an incredible 1:43.31 in the 800m, which would be enough to have made the able-bodied men\u2019s final at the Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is little doubt that in time there will be calls for the youngster to compete against able-bodied athletes, although that comes with massive scrutiny and debate over the advantages or not of prosthetic limbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, Mahlangu is top of the pile as a para-athlete and a huge talent in his disciplines. He also showed tremendous temperament on his way to the long-jump gold because it was an event he only recently took up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we chatted about the jump before, we talked about it being \u2018a naughty medal\u2019,\u201d Johan Snyders, who designs Mahlangu\u2019s blades, said. \u201cIt was never \u2026 our [intention] to come to Tokyo and jump because the impact on his body is so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut you also need to occupy the time \u2026 in the 200m he is so dominant in that field, we needed him to be challenged, so we approached Neil [Cornelius], who is a very technical long-jump coach and explained to him the kinematics. He and Ntando did the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe always knew we had an outside chance for a medal but that last jump was \u2026 phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the final against more experienced opponents, Mahlangu was in bronze medal position at the start of the final round of six jumps. He had already gone 55cm past his personal best. It was his moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore the last jump I checked with my coach,\u201d Mahlangu said after the competition. \u201cHe said that I should just stop what I\u2019m doing and jump, but he told me in a straight way. I knew it was now or never. I was calm. I knew \u2026 I\u2019d give it my best. I said a prayer, \u2018If this is the time, let\u2019s do it \u2026 if not, we take the next event.\u2019 I think I was answered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

End of a journey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahlangu is at the beginning of his journey, whereas women\u2019s sprinter Anrun\u00e9 Weyers competed at her last Paralympics. Despite suffering from Covid-19 shortly before the Games, she stunned the world to win the T47 400m gold in 56.05 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her gold medal came 14 minutes before Mahlangu\u2019s long-jump gold on a brilliant night for South Africa and its athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weyers has an infectiously bubbly personality and is a supremely positive influence on all those around her. Her first Paralympic gold was one the entire team embraced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI still got goose bumps, though, when Team SA gathered here at the village and took pics,\u201d Weyers said. \u201cAfterwards I felt \u2018it \u2019\u2026 the time is now. It felt like when you walk into the athletics stadium and you know it\u2019s time. Now I want to embrace the space, good or bad, and embrace the performances. It\u2019s been quite a road, this five-year cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese will be my last Paralympics. After this I\u2019ll do a lot more 5km and 10km, and encourage people to train. I want to inspire people to move their bodies. Even if 2km is the goal, walk 500m first and go from there. Challenge yourself, don\u2019t compare yourself to someone else. I want to inspire people to stay in their own lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to give back. I\u2019m someone who likes to communicate, I\u2019m spontaneous and want to speak to people, get to know people. I\u2019m not sure where things will lead after my career is over, whether it\u2019s full-time teaching or if God has a different path. But I need to start building a future with my husband, buy a house, and start the next step.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supercyclists<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Du Preez\u2019s gold in the H1 paracycling time trial was another popular win for the team. The 16km race on the famed Fuji speedway circuit saw \u201cSupa Piet\u201d emerge as a star in his own right despite an impressive CV before the Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The motor-racing circuit also probably played witness to the swansong of Ernst van Dyk, undoubtedly one of South Africa\u2019s greatest athletes \u2013 abled or disabled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Dyk finished fifth in the H5 road race over 79.2km, but wouldn\u2019t rule out another tilt at the Paralympics, even though he will be 51 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His list of achievements is jaw-dropping. He\u2019s a 10-time winner of the Boston Marathon, twice a New York City Marathon winner and two-time Los Angeles Marathon winner. He is also a two-time world champion and two-time Paralympic gold medallist, and came to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics as the defending champion from Rio 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI said that it was my last [Paralympics] after Rio and here we sit again today,\u201d Van Dyk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to become harder and harder \u2026 to compete at this level if you\u2019re not a full-time professional athlete, especially in the classes where we have a lot of depth and competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo work full-time and to try to balance that recovery, intensity and the rest of life will become very difficult for older athletes in the future. So, while I like being fit and I love competing, we will just have to see how I can fit things in with my professional life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Inspirational competitors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team SA\u2019s Paralympians, though, won much more than medals. They won hearts and minds with their tenacity and spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are athletes such as table-tennis player Theo Cogill, whose life changed when trying to break up a fight and was stabbed in the neck and back, leaving him with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a promising athlete and able-bodied table-tennis player he had to readjust his goals and emerged as a Paralympian at Tokyo 2020. Life is challenging for the 34-year-old from Bonteheuwel, but his passion and spirit won\u2019t be dimmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t move so fast and the body doesn\u2019t do what I want it to do. I still struggle with aches and pains and niggles, but I have to stay positive,\u201d Cogill said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not on programmes like the sports professionals are, we don\u2019t have physios, so we have to help ourselves. In a way, though, I suppose I am a community leader, so there [are] a lot of people looking up to me as a positive role model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, swimmer Kat Swanepoel juggles life as an occupational health therapist and athlete with debilitating multiple sclerosis. Life is not easy, but she keeps fighting, working and competing, and finished fourth in her final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team SA\u2019s Paralympians have won medals and made finals. Those achievements are etched in the record books forever. But more importantly, they have shown resilience, determination and grace to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to earn the right to forever be called a Paralympian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sprinter Anrun\u00e9 Weyers and paracyclist Pieter du Preez won gold medals, while there was a silver for 1,500m runner Louzanne Coetzee and a bronze for Sheryl James (T37 400m). Mahlangu picked up a surprising gold in the men\u2019s T63 long jump with a leap of 7.17m and then added the T61 200m title to his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-focus","category-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.disabilityconnectexpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}