SA’s Paralympians count down to Rio, seeking to better their London haul
THE spotlight is on the South African Paralympic team, a week before the 2016 Paralympic Games get under way.The event will be held in Rio from September 7-18 and the South Africans‚ who departed for Brazil on Tuesday‚ have the tough task of surpassing the haul of 29 medals — eight gold‚ 12 silver and nine bronze — they managed at the London games, four years ago.But who are the men and women who are expected to pick up the baton from Wayde van Niekerk‚ Caster Semenya‚ Chad le Clos‚ Luvo Manyonga‚ Sunette Viljoen‚ Cameron van der Burgh‚ Lawrence Brittain‚ Shaun Keeling and Henri Schoeman?Women:• Shireen Sapiro (swimming): Sapiro was involved in a skiing accident in 2004, which left her left leg paralysed.After clinching gold at the 2008 games in Beijing in the 100m backstroke and then returning with bronze from London in 2012‚ the 25-year-old Krugersdorp-born swimmer will be eager to reclaim gold at her third Paralympics.• Ilse Carstens (track and field): The visually impaired Carst...
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