Louzanne Coetzee doubles Team SA’s medal haul in Paris

Louzanne Coetzee doubled Team SA’s medal tally at the 2024 Paralympics when she won the bronze medal in the 1500m at the Stade de France on Monday.

The race produced a world record for the T11 class with Ethiopia’s Yayesh Tesfaw taking gold in 4min 27.68sec.

Coetzee sliced five seconds off her time winning silver in Tokyo and hit the line with her guide Estian Badenhorst in 4:35.49, a personal best in the fastest race ever run for T11 athletes.

The 31-year-old was a double medallist at Tokyo 2020 where she had earned the silver medal in the 1500m and the bronze in the marathon, highlighting her versatility. She again competes in the marathon on the final day of competition on Sunday, though offers full transparency in saying it was the 1500m that was the target for Paris.

“I’m super chuffed,” the three-time Paralympian said afterwards. “Estian has been such a great support throughout the year and since Tokyo and there has been so much support from family and friends.

“I really thought we would get close to 4:40, but now we’re closer to 4:30 so I’m not going to stop any time soon.

“The race went according to plan and we ran controlled splits. At the 250m we started going past others but when Estian said 4:15 at 1.4km, I was like, ‘What?’ Then it was just the home straight.”

This was the second medal for Team SA at these Paralympics after Mpumelelo Mhlongo won gold in the men’s T44 100m on Sunday night.