South Africa’s squad of Para-athletes brought home six medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), a World- and African record from the 2024 Para Athletics World Championships that took place (17-25 May) in Kobe, Japan.
The Championships are a crucial qualifier for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and athletes associated with the Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund took care of three of the six medals and some season’s best performances.
On the field, Simoné Kruger not only defended her title and won gold for South Africa, but she also smashed her own World record in the women’s discus F38 with a distance measuring 38.82 meters.
Kruger was awarded Sports Women of the Year with a Disability at the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Regional 5 Silver Jubilee celebration on the same day (25 May) as her world-record-breaking throw on the last day of competition in Kobe.
On the track, Jumping Kids ambassador since 2015, Mpumemlo Mhlongo took care of another gold medal for South Africa in a convincing win (11.34) to defend his World Championships title in the men’s 100m T44 race.
Mhlongo, who is geared to represent South Africa in his third consecutive Paralympics in Paris, placed 6th overall in the men’s long jump T64/62/44/43 combined class final – almost reaching his own T44 division World record (7.07) with a season’s best leap measuring 7.03 meters on the day.
Next up, Toyota Start Your Impossible ambassador, Puseletso Mabote leapt to a new African record (6.03) in the men’s long jump T63 final. He followed that with a photo-finish-sprint to win silver (12.05) for South Africa in the men’s 100m T63 race. Gold went to Germany’s Leon Schaefer (12.03).
Mabote, who has been associated with Jumping Kids since 2013 and is fast becoming one of the charity’s emerging success stories, also set a new World record of 25:12 in the men’s 200m T63 race at the Bloemfontein SASAPD National Championships earlier this year.
“Records can always be taken away. I’ll always get mine back! I am happy with my performance in Kobe. The tone is set for the Paris Paralympics,” commented Mabote.
It was a challenging time for Western Cape’s Paul Daniels at the 2024 Para Athletics World Championships having to face disqualifications in both his men’s 100m and 400m T62 track events in Kobe, Japan.
In the women’s track division, Jumping Kids role model from Limpopo Province, Sheryl James raced to season’s best times in the women’s 100m and 200m T37 finals in Kobe after missing out on racing in her strongest event, the 400m, due to a registration error.
“I am grateful for achieving a season’s best (28.05) for fourth place in the women’s 200m T37 final, and a season’s best (13.65) for 5th place in the women’s 100m T37 race. I’ve decided not to let the 400m curveball upset me,” James commented on social media.
Further medals for South Africa at the Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships are as follows:
Silver for Collen Mahlalela in the men’s 400m T47, bronze for Liezel Gouws in the women’s 400m T37, bronze for Louzanne Coetzee and her guide, Estean Badenhorst, in the women’s 1500m T11 final in a time of 4:50.78.
With the Paralympic Games less than three months away, we look forward to seeing how our Team South Africa Para athletes, who are also Jumping Kids charity ambassadors, fare at the 2024 edition of the Games (28 August – 8 September) in Paris, France.
