SA athletes out of the race after funding crunch
SA’s athletes acquit themselves admirably on the world stage — and none more so than the country’s intellectually disabled sports stars. But a funding shortage is holding back their dreams
When Minke Janse van Rensburg’s face emerges from the water as she swims, her determination to win gold on the world stage is plain to see. The 15-year-old George schoolgirl has had a meteoric career, from swimming in her very first gala two years ago to setting a junior world 50m freestyle record at the Down syndrome world swimming championships in Canada mere months later.
But despite having broken many more world, African and national records, and qualifying for the next round of the championships in Turkey at the end of this month, Janse van Rensburg will not be able to attend that event. Neither will any of SA’s other world-class intellectually impaired athletes...
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