Ntombizanele Situ (19 January 1971 – 1 November 2023), better known as Zanele Situ, was a South African

Paralympian 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 ...

competing mainly in category F54 throwing events. Specialising in the javelin throw, Situ was a two-time gold medalist at both the

Paralympics 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 impaired ...

and the IPC Athletics World Championships and was the first female South African black athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal.

Early life

Ntombizanele Situ was born in Kokstad, South Africa on 19 January 1971. At the age of twelve she experienced weakness in her legs which resulted in an inability to walk. Medical tests discovered a tuberculosis infection in her spine which resulted in Situ entering a two-year semi-coma, and was left with paralysis from the fourth vertebra down, leaving her requiring the use of a wheelchair. After becoming disabled she was schooled at Mthatha.

Athletics career

Situ first came to the international stage in 1998 when she represented South Africa at her first IPC Athletics World Championships, held in Birmingham, England. There she entered both the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

and discus events, winning gold in the javelin with a best throw of 14.45 metres, and bronze in the discus throw. This led her to the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

in Sydney where she won a gold in the F52–54 javelin and a silver in the F51–54 discus. By taking gold in Sydney she became the first South African female black athlete to win a Paralympic title. Two years later she successfully defended her javelin world title in Lille, but despite adding almost two meters to her discus distance from Birmingham, it was only good enough for a fourth-place finish. 2003 saw Situ recognized for her achievements by her country when she was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga (silver) for her contributions to sport. Two years later in Athens, Situ successfully defended her

title at the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

. Although not finishing on the podium in either the shot put or the discus, she was recognized by the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...

as the female athlete who best embodied the spirit of the Games when she was awarded the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award. After Athens, Situ entered a barren period competitively, failing to reach the podium at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing. She recovered some form in 2011, when she won bronze at the Christchurch World Championships, but the emergence of world class competitors, such as Tunisia's Hania Aidi and China's Yang Liwan, made title challenges a difficult task. At the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in London Situ threw a distance of 16.22 metres, but she fell short of the podium in fourth place. In between the 2012 and

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

, Situ claimed two more world bronze medals, at Lyon (2013) and Doha (2015), both in the javelin. At Rio, in the 2016 Paralympics, Situ achieved a personal best in the

, throwing a 17.90 metre mark in her third round to take her first Paralympic medal in twelve years, a bronze. At the Rio de Janeiro Games she was also recognized by her country, being given the honour of flag bearer during the opening ceremony.

Death

Zanele Situ died in November 2023, at the age of 52.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Situ, Zanele 1971 births 2023 deaths South African female javelin throwers South African female discus throwers South African female shot putters Paralympic athletes for South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for South Africa Paralympic silver medalists for South Africa Paralympic bronze medalists for South Africa Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) People from Kokstad Wheelchair javelin throwers Wheelchair discus throwers Wheelchair shot putters Paralympic javelin throwers Paralympic discus throwers Paralympic shot putters