South Africa competed 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 with a team of 62 athletes and finished 18th on the medal table. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), which is the National Paralympic Committee of South Africa, announced a team of 62 competitors for the 2012 Paralympics on 20 June 2012. The team of 45 men and 17 women were accompanied by 45 managers, coaches and other support staff. SASCOC released the team's schedule on 17 August 2012. In a surprise announcement in London on 8 September the South African Minister of Sport and Recreation

Fikile Mbalula Fikile April Mbalula (born 1 April 1971 in the Free State) is a South African politician who is currently serving in the cabinet as Minister of Transport. He previously served as both Minister and Deputy Minister of Police and Minister of Sport ...

said that Paralympic medal winners and their coaches would receive the same performance bonuses that their Olympic counterparts were promised. The amounts initially promised were significantly lower. The minister said the original plan was discriminatory.

Medalists

The following South African competitors won medals at the games. , style="text-align:left; width:78%; vertical-align:top;", , style="text-align:left; width:22%; vertical-align:top;",

Athletics

South African track and field athletes won a combined 17 medals at the Games, four gold, seven silver and six bronze. Sprinter

Oscar Pistorius Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (; ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African convicted murderer and former professional sprinter. Both of his feet were amputated when he was 11 months old owing to a congenital defect; he was born missing the o ...

, who carried the nation's flag at the opening ceremony, was the most successful South African athlete winning individual gold in the T44 400 metres, gold in the 4 × 100 metres relay T42–46, setting world records in both, and individual silver in the T44 200 metres. In the 200 metres event Pistorius set a new world record in his heat, but he was defeated in the final by Brazilian

Alan Oliveira Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira (born August 21, 1992) is a Paralympian athlete from Brazil competing mainly in category T44 sprint events. Oliveira is a double-below-the-knee amputee, classifying him in the Paralympic T43 class; athletes in this ...

. After the race Pistorius raised an issue about the length of Oliveira's blades, he later apologised for the timing of his remarks, but not the content of his complaint. The IPC confirmed the length of Oliveira's blades were proportional to his body and legal, but expressed willingness to engage with Pistorius about the issue. ;Men—track ;Men—field ;Women—track ;Women—field ;Management Team *Manager: Dion Bishop *Coaches: Suzanne Ferreira, Zelda Hansen, Hennie Koekemoer, Karin le Roux, Ampie Louw *Team assistant: Neels Matthyser *Helper: Illse du Preez.

Cycling

Road

Track

;Management team *Manager: Mike Burns *Coach: Ricky Kulsen *Mechanic: Pieter Jansen.

Equestrian

A team of four represented South Africa in the equestrian competition, one man and three women, although Paralympic equestrian competition is not divided by gender. The competition consists of three

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

events, a championship test, a freestyle test and a team test. There are five competitor classes: Ia, Ib, II, III and IV, with Ia being the most and IV the least impaired. ;Individual ;Team * Indicates the three best individual scores that count towards the team total. ;Management team *Manager: Tracey Cumming *Coach: Chris Haazen *Vet: Sheelagh Higgerty *

Grooms A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

: Enoch Cele, Anton Chimbuanda, Elizabeth Newsome, Teri Smith

Rowing

Qualification Key: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); R=Repechage ;Management *Manager/coach: Marco Galeone

Swimming

Natalie du Toit, a veteran of three Paralympics and one Olympics, announced her retirement from competitive swimming after this event. South Africa's first gold medal came from du Toit winning gold in the women's 100 m butterfly S9. ;Men ;Women ;Management team *Manager: Queeneth Ndlovu *Coach: Karoly Toros *Coach/tapper: Karin Hugo *Tapper/helper: Eeden Meyer

Wheelchair basketball

South Africa's men's wheelchair basketball team were in ''Group A'' with Australia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United States. Competing athletes are given an eight-level-score specific to wheelchair basketball, ranging from 0.5 to 4.5 with lower scores representing a higher degree of disability. The sum score of all players on the court cannot exceed 14.

Men's tournament

;Group stage ---- ---- ---- ---- ;11th/12th place match ;Management team *Manager: Willie Riechert *Coach: Patrick Fick *Assistant coach: Shadrack Moepeng *Technical coach: Franck Belen

Wheelchair tennis

;Management team *Manager/coach: Holger Losch *Assistant coach: Khotso Matshego.

General team management

The following people made-up the team's senior management: *

Chef de Mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...

: Pieter Badenhorst * Project manager: Vinesh Maharaj * Manager (logistics): Clifford Cobers * Logistics: Madira Sehlapelo * Manager (athletes services): Chantelle Jardim * Athlete services: Dumisani Mtwa * Chief medical officer: Wayne Derman * Chief physiotherapist: Grace Hughes * Doctor: Paul Maphoto * Physiotherapists: Given Baloyi, Edwin Bodha, Greshne Davids, Shantal Edwards, Dan Ntseke, Evah Ramashala * Classifier: Tarina van der Stockt

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

SASCOC National Paralympic Committee - Official websiteDisability Sports South Africa - Official websiteSouth African Sports Association for Physically Disabled - Official website
{{NPCin2012SummerParalympics Nations at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

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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 ...