Disabled athletes make their mark
Local disabled athletes makes their mark during the recent Saps National Athletics Championships.
Two local police officers, Warrant Officer Nicolas Otto and Captain Jackie Matlatle, recently took part in the Saps National Athletics Championships and brought home six medals.
According to Otto, the championships took place from 24 – 30 May in Sucunda.
He adds that both himself and Matlatle took part in the disabled category of this event as they are both wheelchair-bound.
“We competed in the discuss, javelin throw and 100m and received three medals each,” says Otto.
Otto received a gold medal in the 100m, a silver medal in Javelin throw and a bronze in discuss.
Matlatle also showed great skill in these items and received bronze in the 100m, bronze in the Javlin Throw and silver in discuss.
Matlatle explains that although he is stationed at Kagiso Police Department, he is a resident of Randfontein and is proud to have brought back these medals to his home town.
“We would have competed in more items, but each participant is limited to three items each and we are honoured to have placed in the top three in all our items,” says Matlatle.
Aside from their involvement in athletics, both of these officers are also keen tennis players and Otto will take part in both the Pretoria and Soweto Open from 29 June to 6 July.
“Matlatle would have joined me in both these competitions but will not be able to participate due to injury,” says Otto.
Both Otto and Matlatle took part in the athletics championships in their everyday wheelchairs and would have performed better if they had wheelchairs especially for sporting events.
