With less than a month to go before the National Championships for Persons with Disabilities are held in Gqeberha, para-athletes showcased their talent at the fourth Winelands International Para-Athletics meet at Coetzenburg on Saturday 22 February.
As a recognised event on the International Para-Athletics calendar, the competition attracted eight Paralympians, ensuring a high standard of performance. The organisers ensured everything ran smoothly and on schedule, allowing athletes to focus on their track and field events. This resulted in an impressive nine new South African records being set.The top three performances were determined using the Razza points system.
As happened last year, Simoné Kruger, reigning Paralympic champion in the F38 discus event, claimed the top honours and secured the R3 000 prize. She also became the first recipient of the newly introduced Zanele Situ Floating Trophy, which will be awarded to the event’s overall winner annually. Kruger, now a first-year student at Stellenbosch University, represents Maties ParaSport.
Second place went to Collen Mahlalela (400 m) from the UJ Sport Club and third place was claimed by Maties ParaSport’s Kerwin Noemdo (shot-put). All three podium finishers represented South Africa at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
