Two star para-athletes from Mbombela have qualified for the South African Sport Association for the Physically Disabled (SASAPD) National Championships to be held in Gqeberha in March and April next year.

Conrad Otto, a Grade Eight learner at Hoërskool Bergvlam, and Juané le Roux, a Grade 11 learner at Hoërskool Nelspruit, are the Mbombela duo that will be heading to the national championships in a few months’ time.

Conrad (14) competed in the Athletics Mpumalanga Sub-Youth Trails at Hoërskool Secunda early in November, participating in the U17 age group under the F13/T13 category for visual impairments. He managed to achieve a gold medal in shotput with a distance of 9.69m and another gold medal in the discus with a distance of 30.38m.

Despite only being 14, when competing against other para-athletes, Conrad takes part in the U17 age group. According to his father, Pieter, Conrad has been declared clinically blind. In spite of this, he still managed to play rugby for Bergvlam this year, too, over and above his athletics achievements.

Juané (17) has qualified for the SASAPD National Championships after a top year. She participated in the Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships where she finished eighth in the world in javelin. Juané also set new SA records in the F46 class for javelin, discus and shotput this year.

Both of these young athletes will be gunning for the top spot at the national championships in March and April and have already begun their preparations.