To kick-off the 2025 athletics season, Jumping Kids helped sponsor four up and coming Para athletes from IsAbility Sports Club Gauteng to participate in the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The event was the first in a series of World Para Athletics Grand Prix competitions and important opportunity for the four young athletes, who are Jumping Kids charity ambassadors, to make their international debut for South Africa.

Although the trip was not without its challenges – one of them being Kitso Mokolometsa snapping his blade before the start of the competition… the main objective was to get the lads classified and provide them with an opportunity to represent their country and gain valuable experience abroad.

Jumping Kids charity beneficiary, T64 athlete, Jayden Van Heerden, made the most of his participation at the event by winning 200m bronze (26,34) and 100m silver (12,81) for South Africa while bettering his own national marks (unofficial) in both events.

On the field, Arno Graaff continued to shine and set new (unofficial) SA records in both the F46 javelin (39,84) and shot-put throw (11,14) finals.

In the T38 division, Enzo Espag ran a superb 1500m final where he also bettered his own SA record (5:38.59) with a time of 5:11,91 (unofficial).

And Kitso Mokolometsa, although not being able to compete in the T61 division due to his snapped blade, was classified along with his teammates and that is a win for us.

“Jumping Kids has a long history of involvement in Para sport development, and we are extremely proud of our four Jumping Kids role-models for their exemplary conduct and outstanding performance at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai” says Jumping Kids Director, Michael Stevens.