Gert van der Merwe was a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

who competed mainly in category F37 throwing events. Gert started competing in the Paralympics in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

competing in the discus and shot put, winning gold in the latter. He also competed in the 2000 Summer Paralympics where he defended his shot put title and also competed in the javelin and as part of the South African 4 × 100 m relay team.profile on paralympic.org
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References

Paralympic athletes of South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for South Africa Living people Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Year of birth missing (living people) Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) South African male shot putters South African male javelin throwers South African male sprinters 20th-century South African people 21st-century South African people {{SouthAfrica-Paralympic-medalist-stub