Louzanne Coetzee (left) sprints hand in hand with her new guide, Khotatso Mokone. The duo is headed for the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro later this year. Photo: Rufus Botha
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“Basically, I’m now waiting for the team selection. When they make the announcement, I’ll know if I made the cut even though I have already qualified,” says Louzanne Coetzee.
This world-class visually-impaired athlete from the University of the Free State (UFS) broke her own South African record on Friday 26 February 2016 at the Motheo and Gariep High School Championships held at the Free State athletic stadium. It was at this event that it became abundantly clear that she is on top of her game and gunning for the Paralympic Games. The Paralympic Games are scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in September 2016.
Louzanne crossed the 800m finish line at 2: 35.77 in the women’s T11 (totally blind) category. She and her new guide, Khotatso Mokone, smashed her 2: 45.76 record with a phenomenal improvement of approximately ten-seconds.
Rufus Botha, Louzanne’s coach, is positive about the way her training is proceeding and impressed at her progress thus far. “Everything is going as planned, I’m happy with preparations at this stage. We are preparing for three races over the course of three days at the SA Championships on 21, 22, and 23 March,” he said.
Dan Breitenbach, a world-class UFS 800m T11 athlete, also broke his own record of 2: 13.57 during the same athletics meeting. Dan and his guide, Marius Wessels, managed an improvement of more than four seconds when they completed the race in 2: 09.30.
Other Kovsie athletes who impressed at the event included Wayde van Niekerk (200m), Gideon Trotter, Hendrik Maartens (both 100m), Petr Havenga (400m), Ansulet Potgieter, Maryke Brits, Lizzy Kriel (all 100m), Kesa Molotsane (5000m and 1500m), Sefako Mokhosoa (triple jump),and Nadia Botha (discus).