Team South Africa finished the 2024 Paralympics with six medals which placed them 46th on the overall table, with China topping the list with 220 medals (94 gold). For Team SA, Mpumelelo Mhlongo (T44 100m) and Simone Kruger (T38 discus) won gold, while Louzanne Coetzee (T11 1500m), Donald Ramphadi and Lucas Sithole (wheelchair tennis Quad doubles), Pieter…

By GARY LEMKE in Paris When we’ve watched Louzanne Coetzee we’ve all had the opportunity to do a little jig of joy, or shout of “y-e-s-s-s”, whether it be at the TV, on the track or on the side of the road.  Sunday at the Paralympics, the final day of Paris 2024, might not…

Bronze medallist Pieter du Preez will carry the South African flag when the flame 2024 Paralympics come to an official end in Paris on Sunday night. Du Preez, a gold medallist in the H1 time-trial in Tokyo, finished third to win bronze in Paris 2024. He is one of the legends of South African sport…

By GARY LEMKE in Paris More than an hour after having the Paralympic gold medal placed around her neck, Simone Kruger was still doing interviews and posing for selfies. Standing on the concourse of the Stade de France stadium, she had already postponed a scheduled MRI scan and by her own admission “hadn’t looked at…

By GARY LEMKE in Paris Mpumelelo Mhlongo calls himself "blessed" but rarely has someone deserved things to go his way as they did for the 30-year-old at the 2024 Paralympics on Saturday night. If you held a secret poll among his teammates as to who wins the title of "Mr Nice Guy" in this squad,…

By GARY LEMKE in Paris When you’re throwing a discus nearly 40 metres, six centimetres doesn’t sound an awful much but it is. Every centimetre counts and it was the margin thateventually decided the destiny of the women’s F38 discus Paralympic gold medal at the Stade de France on Friday night. Gold went to the…

By GARY LEMKE in Paris Simone Kruger is only 19, but she arrived in the French capital as the world champion and the world record holder in the F38 discus. All that was missing on her ever-growing CV was Paralympic gold and a Paralympic record. Tick. Tick. She achieved both at the Stade de France…

There was a changing of the guard in the T62 400m when Paul Daniels recorded a personal best and Daniel du Plessis announced his retirement after the final at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday night. Daniels surged to a personal best of 50.63sec as he crossed the line in sixth position with Du…

The sunshine disappeared in Paris and rain clouds descended over the French capital but nothing could dampen Team SA's spirits on Thursday. They started the day at the 2024 Paralympics with four medals and had three codes in action, although cycling bronze medallist Pieter du Preez withdrew from the road race due to safety concerns in…

By GARY LEMKE in Paris Alani Ferreira had her fingernails painted yellow before arriving at her third Paralympics. “It’s my favourite colour,” she says, as she taps her smartphone. Her screensaver pops up and she turns it to show me. “He’s the love of my life.” And it’s understandable why. He’s blond,…