Toyota SASAPD National Championships

Day 1 of competition at the 2021 Toyota SASAPD National Championships in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape got off in record-breaking style on the track and in the field with four new continental bests.

Paralympic hopefuls Obed Lekhehle, Yane van der Merwe, Charne Felix and Puseletso Mabote reminded selectors that they will have a hard job of choosing Team South Africa who will compete at the rescheduled 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Unlike qualifying for the Olympic Games, where meeting an A qualification standard gives an athlete a spot at the Games. The Paralympic Games gives countries slots, earned at specific international competitions and through a global high performance ranking list. South Africa currently have just 10 slots and SASAPD have stated in their selection policy that they will select athletes that 1. Are realistic medal contenders and 2. Have a realistic chance of reaching the final at the Paralympic Games.

The annual championships are a multi-coded event and Goalball, Boccia and Judo players were all in action today.

The Visually Impaired judo competition at the games in Gqeberha was the first tournament for the sport in the country since the National lockdown and it offered judokas valuable time on the mat.

South Africa’s two Paralympic hopefuls in the B2 category, Ndyebo Lamani (66kg) and Jacque Joubert (Under 81kg) made the most of their first opportunity to compete since 2019 with both participating in three bouts, including a fight between one another to test their fitness. The two will be travelling to Baku, Azerbaijan in May for a Paralympic qualification tournament which is the penultimate chance to better their world rankings and in turn earn a spot at the games in Tokyo.

The Championships will conclude on Monday.

Athletics Records (24/04/2021)

Obed Lekhehle (FS) Long Jump Open men F42 – 3.65 (Provisional Africa record)

Yane van der Merwe (GP) Discus Open women F44 – 29.92 (Provisional Africa record)

Charne Felix (WP) Long Jump Open women T44 – 4,37 (Provisional Africa record)

Puseletso Mabote (GP) Long Jump u/17 men T62 – 4,84 (Provisional Africa record)

Kitso Malokometsa (GP) Long Jump u/17 men T62 – 2,78 (Provisional RSA record)

Thato Mthembu (GP) Long Jump u/17 men T46 – 4,89 (Provisional RSA record)

Kim Macdonald (GP) Long Jump u/20 women T64 – 2,84 (Provisional RSA record)

PJ Klopper (FS) Javelin u/17 men F13 – 19.68 (Provisional RSA record)

PJ Klopper (FS) Long Jump u/17 men F13 – 4,08 (Provisional RSA record)

Emile Burgers (GP) Javelin Open men F64 – 51.13 (Provisional RSA record)