Paralympics beckon Swanepoel
She will represent SA in the SM5 200m individual medley, the S5 50m backstroke, the 100m freestyle, the 200m freestyle, the SB4 100m breaststroke and the S14 400m freestyle.
Benoni occupational therapist Kat Swanepoel will represent SA at the Paris 2024 Paralympics after being included in the initial 26-member squad announced by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee (Sascoc) on July 8.
Swanepoel will compete in six categories – the SM5 200m individual medley (IM), S5 50m backstroke, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, SB4 100m breaststroke and S14 400m freestyle.
The wheelchair-bound swimmer recently saw her classification changed from S4 to S5, meaning she will compete against swimmers who can walk and kick.
According to the para-sport classification site LEXI, the S5 is for medley swimmers with moderately affected co-ordination, highly affected movement in the mid-trunk and legs or the absence of limbs. The swimmers also have difficulty holding good body position or swimming straight.
This means Swanepoel had to learn to swim the butterfly to compete in the 200m IM. The declassification also affected her world rankings as she slipped from first to 15th in the backstroke.
The Paralympian, who represented SA in Tokyo in 2020 in wheelchair rugby and basketball, was diagnosed with a progressive degenerative form of multiple sclerosis in 2008, which consigned her to a wheelchair two years later.
She’s paralysed from the chest down, blind in one eye and has had to deal with her body progressively weakening. Furthermore, she has no sensation or movement from the chest down and in half of her arms.
Record breaker
She won two gold medals and a silver and broke two African records at the World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester last August.
She grabbed a silver in the SB9 50m breaststroke after touching the wall in 57.19, setting a new African record.
She won the SM4 150m IM in a new continental record of 02:51 and claimed victory in the S4 50m breaststroke to end the competition with three medals.
Incentives for medallists
Sascoc also announced that the financial incentives for medallists at the Paralympics will be the same as those offered to their able-bodied counterparts competing in the Olympics in July and August.
The gold medallists will receive R400 000 per athlete, and coaches will earn R200 000. Silver medallists will get R200 000, while coaches will receive R50 000. For those who win bronze, the athletes will earn R75 000, while their coaches will receive R50 000.
Sascoc CEO Nozipho Japhta said Team SA has always competed with pride and excellence at the Paralympics, and they expect the same this year.
“The initial squad represents the best of the best, and we hope our athletes will continue to add to the country’s reputation at the Paralympics. We wish them every success and assure them they have the support of the entire nation behind them,” Japhta said.
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