Team SA Experience Spectacular Opening Ceremony… Now for the Action!

Team South Africa’s 2016 Paralympic Games campaign took another step forward in Rio de Janeiro close to midnight on Wednesday (SA time) with a spectacular opening ceremony. The ceremony was at the iconic Maracana Stadium, the same stadium used for the Olympic Games last month.

Over the course of 11 days just over 4,000 athletes from 179 countries will compete in 23 Paralympic sports. The 528 events will yield 225 medals for women, 265 for men and 38 mixed medals.

South Africa’s contingent of 45 athletes, a smaller team than 2012, will attempt to equal the number of 29 medals won in London but without three major stars (including of course Oscar Pistorius). It will be a big challenge… but taken with with just as proud of heart and with heaps of spirit.

South Africa was the second team into the stadium for the Opening Ceremony.

In an unusual and very real aspect to the ceremony, bright lights were used to temporarily ‘blind’ the crowd in an attempt to drum home to spectators the reality that Paralympic athletes face, forcing them to rely on other senses such as hearing.

As usual some of the team-members missed out on the magic moments as competition is scheduled to get underway on Thursday.

Watch Video: Opening Ceremony Paralympic Games 2016

The first South African in action (and let it be said, a very real medal contender) in the pool is Port Elizabeth’s Kevin Paul, a ‘veteran’ Paralympic campaigner. Now living in Durban where he trains under national coach Graham Hill, Paul’ 100-metre breaststroke heats (SB9 classification) were this afternoon.

Also from KwaZulu-Natal is new kid on the block Alani Ferreira who will also be in action in 100m butterfly (S13) heats at 5.16pm. Finals for both events make for red-eye stuff, Paul at 11.06pm and Ferreira even later at 12.46am on Friday.

Two other codes see action today, in the shape of athletics and cycling.

Three athletes line up, with Hilton Langenhoven in the T12 400m heats (4.56pm) and semi-finals (11.38pm SA time), Paralymic debutant Mphumi Mlongo and another ‘veteran’ Arnu Fourie in the T44 100m heats (10.42pm) and Liezel Gouws in the T37 100m heats (12.51am) Roxy Burns is the lone cyclist and her qualifying round of the individual pursuit (C1-3) is at 3pm on Thursday afternoon and if she goes through to the final she’ll be in the saddle once more at 9.30pm

Watch Video: Team SA Paralympics 2016| Chef de Mission Leon Fleiser

The South African Paralympic team arrived in Rio exactly a week and has settled into the Athletes Village, the same one used for the Olympic Games…

Source:Sascoc.co.za