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Johannesburg - South Africa's Paralympic athletes returned home to a joyous welcome from hundreds of fans who were eagerly awaiting their arrival at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday.
WATCH: Gold medal winner Kevin Paul breaks out into a dance
Team South Africa brought back 17 medals from the Rio Games.
Sport and Recreation Minster Fikile Mbalula was once again quick to say that
the athletes should get car upgrades and that he is the "Father Christmas
of sport".
"I want to repeat that the athletes should graduate from driving small
cars to driving big cars," he said.
As with the Olympic medallists, Mbalula promised
bonuses for the athletes. Gold medallists will take home R400 000 (R100 000 for the coach). Silver
medallists pocketed R200 000 (R50 000) while bronze medallists earned R80 000 (R20 000).
He said that the Paralympics team should be regarded as "a bunch of
winners" - a phrase the minister regularly uses to describe victorious
national teams.
Low media coverage
"When you are born with disabilities it's not the end of the road. We are
all equal."
Mbalula expressed his disappointment with the low coverage in Rio by local
media houses saying more journalists should be sent to cover the Paralympics.
"There were very few journalists at the Paralympics. I'm not blaming
anyone as they did a great job of covering the event from South Africa. Maybe
it was the budgets."
He added that although South Africa loves Usain Bolt, the country has many of
its own Bolts.
Ntando Mahlangu who, at the young age of 14, won silver in the men's 200m - T42,
received a hero's welcome from the crowd which included a large number of
pupils from Laerskool Constantiapark, where he attends school.
Ernst van Dyk added gold in the men's road race - H5 to his already impressive
medal tally. In 2012 Van Dyk took silver. In Beijing in 2008 he took home gold
and bronze. In 2004 in Athens Van Dyk took home two silver medals and a bronze
while he took home bronze in 2000 in Sydney.
Kevin Paul returned from Rio with his third Paralympics medal after clinching
gold in the 100m breaststroke - SB9. In 2008 at the Beijing Paralympics the
25-year-old also took gold while in 2012 in London he won silver.
Paul couldn't resist breaking out into a dance upon arrival.
22nd on overall Paralympics table
Hilton Langenhoven took home gold in the men's long jump - T12 as well as
silver in the men's 200m - T12. Langenhoven's achievement is in addition to the
three gold medals he earned in Beijing in 2008 and the silver medals he took
home from Athens in 2004 and in London in 2012.
Charl du Toit also bagged two gold medals in the men's 100m - T37 and men's
400m - T37.
First-time gold medallist Dyan Buis took first prize in the men's 400m - T38
and bronze in the men's long jump - T38. In London in 2012 Buis got two silver
medals and one bronze.
Reinhardt Hamman took gold in the men's javelin throw - F38.
Furthermore, there were silver medals for Ilse Hayes (women's 100m - T13 and
women's 400m - T13), Anrune Liebenberg (women's 400m - T47) and Jonathan Ntutu
(men's 100m - T12).
There were also bronze medals for Fanie van der Merwe (men's 100m - T37),
Tyrone Pillay (men's shot put - T42) and Zanele Situ (women's javelin throw -
F54).
The 17 medals the South African team raked in placed them 22nd on the overall
Paralympics table in 2016. South Africa made its debut in the Paralympics in
1964 in Tokyo, Japan.
South Africa at the Paralympics:
1964 in Tokyo, Japan (19 medals – 8 gold, 8 silver and
3 bronze)
1968 in Tel Aviv, Israel (26 medals – 9 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze)
1972 in Heidelberg, West Germany (41 medals – 16 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze)
1976 in Toronto, Canada (26 medals – 6 gold, 9 silver and 11 bronze)
1992 in Barcelona, Spain (8 medals – 4 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze)
1996 in Atlanta, United States (28 medals – 10 gold, 8 silver and 10 bronze)
2000 in Sydney, Australia (38 medals – 13 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze)
2004 in Athens, Greece (35 medals – 15 gold 13 silver and 7 bronze)
2008 in Beijing, China (30 medals – 21 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze)
2012 in London, Great Britain (29 medals – 8 gold, 12 silver and 9 bronze)
2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (17 medals - 7 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze)
Gold medalist Kevin Paul showing some dancing moves at OR Tambo. #TeamSA #Paralympics @Sport24news @News24 pic.twitter.com/zAv52iIVht
— Wim Pretorius (@Wimster101) September 20, 2016
