South Africa’s para-athletes brought plenty of impressive performances to Coetzenburg Stadium, with three potential national records.
Stellenbosch, South Africa (21 October 2026) – There was no shortage of sporting highlights when the Western Cape Sports Association for the Physically Disabled hosted its provincial trials at Stellenbosch’s Coetzenburg Stadium over the weekend.
The event brought together athletes competing in para athletics and para cycling, with some of South Africa’s leading Paralympians among those showing what they can do.
Paralympians Kerwin Noemdo and Mpumelelo Mhlongo impressed in the men’s events, while Paralympic gold medallist Simone Kruger delivered another standout performance in the women’s competition.
Three athletes also recorded potential South African records, all subject to ratification by the South African Sports Association for the Physically Disabled.
Johannes Vosloo achieved the mark in the under-20 F37 shot put, Mihle Nzulwane in the under-17 F43 shot put, and Valentino English in the under-17 F57 seated javelin.
A further four performances bettered record categories where qualifying standards are listed, but no record holder is currently named. These marks will also be submitted for ratification.
Across the trials, 44 athletes achieved a combined 75 South African qualification standards, highlighting the depth of talent competing in the province.
There was progress beyond the record books, too. Of the 52 athletes who competed in the same event and age group at the 2025 trials, 30 improved on their previous performances.
Based on the Raza international points system, Kruger’s F38 discus throw of 35.73m was the highest-scoring senior performance, earning 942 points.
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Mhlongo also featured strongly in the T44 sprints, recording 11.90 seconds in the 100m and 24.98 seconds in the 200m. Noemdo’s 37.92m discus throw was another notable performance.
The trials offered an opportunity to celebrate not only the athletes’ results, but also the hard work behind every improvement, qualification and record attempt.
Now that the national standards are achieved and athletes continue to raise their own benchmarks, the weekend was a promising showcase of para-sport talent in the Western Cape.
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