12 September 2016
MEDALS: 7
Gold: 3
Kevin Paul – Swimming
Hilton Langenhoven – Athletics
Charl du Toit – Athletics
Silver: 2
Ilse Hayes – Athletics
Ntando Mahlangu – Athletics
Bronze 2
Fanie van der Merwe – Athletics
Tyrone Pillay – Athletics
Pillay picks up Team SA’s seventh medal at Rio
By Mark Etheridge
Big shot-putter Tyrone Pillay pushed Team South Africa’s medal tally to seven at the Rio Paralympics on Monday.
After a bumper day on Sunday with four medals (one gold, two silvers and a bronze) Pillay kept up the medal-winning momentum in the F42 category as he heaved the sphere a career-best 13.91 metres.
That comfortably eclipsed his previous best of 13.49m and was a new national and continental best.
Winner, and in a class of his own was Great Britain’s Aled Davis with a 15.97m on the day. It took a Paralympic record from Davies and a season’s best from Iran’s Salad Mohammedian (14.31) to keep Durban’s Pillay down on the lowest level of the podium.
Pillay, having turned 36 on 1 May this year, is not the youngest member of the SA team but it showed that his birthday rather aptly falls on Worker’s Day annually!
Also fittingly, it was in Rio earlier this year that his previous best hurl had been achieved.
On paper he may have not been favoured to podium but Pillay has now painted his name into Paralympic history. ‘The guys didn’t realise I could throw this far and I came out guns blazing. Man, I respect all those guys, they’ve helped me push through this far.
‘Alex is just an awesome guy, awesome competitor…’
Photo Credits: Martin Potgieter
There was also respect, huge respect, to the people behind the scenes, some of them no longer with us.
‘I lost my dad Teddy 14 years ago, my mom Suzy has still got cancer.. this is for them, and the whole of South Africa, especially for those who believed in me.’
And despite his ‘advanced’ age, Pillay has no thoughts of putting his shot away. ‘No, this makes me want to go on. I just love this sport too much. I want to grow this sport and get a whole heap of youngsters coming through.’
In swimming action earlier in the day it was 2012 Paralympic bronze medallist Hendri Herbst who ended second in his S11 50m freestyle heat to go through to the late-evening final.
He was joined by Achmat Hassiem who was sixth in his S10 100m butterfly heat to sneak through to the final as the slowest of eight swimmers.
Not so fortunate were Alani Ferreira and 2012 Paralympian Emily Gray.
Ferreira swam her fourth and penultimate eventsin the pool for Team SA when she went off in the S13 400-metres freestyle. She swam heat one of two and ended seventh in 5min 18.06sec. That put her 13th of 14 swimmers.
Then Gray was in action in the S9 100m freestyle and ended eighth and last in heat three with a time of 1:10.58 more than 5sec off the qualifying time for the final.
Team South Africa remained 16th on the medals table with those seven medals, despite Pillay’s performance… gold is what they seek to move higher and higher!
It’s six of the best for Team SA in Rio
By Mark Etheridge
South Africa woke up on Monday to anything but a blue Monday as Team South Africa celebrated six of the best medals in Rio de Janeiro.
After a super productive afternoon on the track where first Charl du Toit and Fanie van der Merwe won gold and bronze in the T37 100m final and Ilse Hayes then sealed silver in the T13 100m it was up to teenager Ntando Mahlangu to come to the party.
And come to the party he did as he raced to silver in the men’s T42 final in the evening session of athletics.
We use the term ‘men’ lightly here as let’s remember, Ntando is just 14 years old, and been fitted with prostheses for less than four years!
The Mpumalanga athlete motored to a time of 23.77 seconds, only being beaten by British Paralympic sensation Richard Whithead (23.39).
It still hadn’t quite sunk in as to what he’d done on the biggest stage of all. ‘Wow, it’s a very great feeling and I just want to thank SA for allowing me to have this opportunity. Thanks to all the people back home who helped me get here.
‘As for the final, everyone is just running his best hey, I’m happy with my result, I ran a personal best so really can’t expect much more.’
And it certainly looks like the world of para-athletics can look forward a lot more from Mahlangu. ‘Hey, I just pray every day for God to keep me in his eyes so…Tokyo 2020 here I come.
‘I never really expected a medal but I knew if did my best there was a chance.’
Sixteenth on the medals table after Du Toit’s gold, Van der Merwe’s bronze and Hayes’ silver, Team SA consolidated that spot with Mahlangu’s medal.
At the 2012 Games, Team SA ended 18th on the medals table with 29 medals, eight of them gold.
Away from the track and shooter Khone van Zeuner ended 27th in the P3 Precision division with 273-3x points and in the P3 Rapid he ended 20th with 548-11x points, failing to reach the final. There was also disappointment for dressage rider Philippa Johnson and her horse Lord Louis, the four-time Paralympian ending fifth in qualification with 69.921 and not qualifying for a medal. Swimmer Kevin Paul, SA’s first gold medallist at these Games, ended sixth in the S10 Individual Medley with a time of 2:16.25 as Ukraine’s Denys Dubrov exacted revenge for Paul beating him in last week’s SB10 breaststroke final.
On to Monday’s action and in the pool Alani Ferreira continues her Paralympics debut with her fourth event in Rio, London bronze medallist Hendri Herbst is in action, as is fellow 2012 bronze medallist Achmat Hassiem and Emily Gray is the four swimmer in what she has hinted will beher last Paralympics.
Athletics heat activity sees Liezel Gouws in her favourite event, the T37 400m, while Dyan Buis is in T38 action, the event where he won silver four years ago. One final has SA participation, big Tyrone Pillay in the F42 shot put.
Said Durban’s Pillay: ‘So it’s finally “go-time”. I can’t wait to go out there and give of my best. Send all the good vibes and energy… proudly South African.
‘I feel great, and as relaxed and prepared as I’ll ever be. Obviously on the day anything can happen and it’s not practical to put a mark on distance but training has been going great and I know what I’m capable of. It’s now time to put it on the big stage.
‘I do this for all the people back home and loving all the support we’re receiving from home.’ And then there’s tennis where Lucas Sithole teams up with Aussie Dylan Alcott in the Quad Singles mixed semi-final.
SUPERSPORT Coverage
SuperSport will broadcast two 24-hour channels (SS13 and SS14) in High Definition for the duration of the Games with producers choosing the best of four feeds from Olympic Broadcast Services. What isn’t broadcast live will be broadcast on a delayed basis.
The popular Blitz channel will carry regular Paralympic news items, while the two TV channels will be available via streaming via www.supersport.com and the SuperSport and DStv Now apps, as well as social platforms and DStv Catch Up.
Daily two-hour highlights packages will be scheduled on SS Select and SS9.
TEAM SA APP for Paralympics.
Following on from the Olympic Games, Team SA has its own App for all South African sports supporters wanting to follow Team SA athletes at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Loads of information can be found on the very easy to navigate App, bringing you results, competition schedules, athlete profiles, images and videos of the athletes plus more.
The App is free, users can download the App and it’s available globally. https://itunes.apple.com/za/app/teamsarise/id1133481695?mt=8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…
Support your team and keep up to date on daily sporting events in Rio with #TeamSArise mobile.
Results from Mon 12 September 2016
SWIMMING:
Heats:
Alani Ferreira – 400m Freestyle S13 (finished 7th, time of 5:18.06 and did not qualify for finals) Henri Herbst – 50m Freestyle S11 (finished 2nd, time of 26.95 and qualified for the finals) Achmat Hassiem 100m Butterfly S10 (finished 5th, time 1:00.40 and qualified for the finals) Emily Gray 100m freestyle S9 (finished 8th, time 1:10.58 and did not qualify for finals)
Finals:
Henri Herbst – 50m Freestyle S11 (finished 6th, time of 27.11)
Achmat Hassiem 100m Butterfly S10 final (finished 8th, time of 1:00.96)
ATHLETICS:
Heats:
Leizel Gouws 400m T37 (finished 3rd, time of !:07.86 and qualified for finals) Tyrone Pillay Final shot put F42 (BRONZE with a throw of 13.91)
Dyan Buis 100m T38 (finished 2nd, time of 11.29 and qualified for the finals) TENNIS:
Lucas Sithole – Quad’s singles mixed WT13-16 (lost 0-6, 3-6 to Dylan Alcott in the semi final and will now play for a Bronze medal on Wednesday)
Athletes in action on Tuesday 13 September 2016
(All times listed below are for South Africa)
SWIMMING:
Heats:
3.26pm Achmat Hassiem – 100m Freestyle S10 3.33pm Shireen Shapiro – 100m Freestyle S10 4.29pm Emily Gray – 50m Freestyle S9 Potential finals:
11.11pm Achmat Hassiem – 100m Freestyle S10 11.17pm Shireen Shapiro – 100m Freestyle S10
00.33am (Wed) Achmat Hassiem – potential medal presentation – 100m Freestyle S10 00.41am (Wed) Shireen Shapiro – potential medal presentation – 100m Freestyle S10 00.55am (Wed) Emily Gray – 50m Freestyle S9
2.07am (Wed) Emily Gray – potential medal presentation – 50m Freestyle S9
ATHLETICS:
3.00pm Anrune Liebenberg (heats) 400m T47 3.14pm Leizel Gouws (final) 400m T37 3.40pm Dyan Buis (final) 100m T38
3.50pm Andrea Dalle Ave (final) Long Jump T37
4.07pm Leizel Gouws – potential medal ceremony 400m T37 4.42pm Dyan Buis – potential medal ceremony 100m T38
5.38pm Andrea Dalle Ave –potential medal ceremony Long Jump T37 10.33pm Zanele Situ – Javelin F54 final
00.33am (Wed) Ndodomzi Ntutu (heat) 100m T12
EQUESTRIAN:
7.00pm Phillipa Johnson – Individual Championship Test –Grade III Dressage Final 10.05pm potential medal ceremony.
Source: Sascoc
