Sheryl James always giving her best winning two medals in Dubai
The Paralympian said she was relieved and focused on running her race, saying that as an athlete you learn to deal with whatever comes your way.
Sheryl James brought home a silver and a bronze medal from the Dubai 2024 World Para Athletics Grand Prix. Picture: SASAPD (South African Sports Association for Physically Disabled)/ Facebook.
JOHANNESBURG – Team South Africa brought home a bag full of medals from the Dubai 2024 World Para Athletics Grand Prix.
Sheryl James brought home a silver and a bronze medal from the event.
“A young girl asked me if I was disappointed in a race when I only got silver. I told her that you can never be disappointed if you have given everything you have. Sometimes you don’t run as well as other times, but you always need to try your best.”
She tells Eyewitness News that she is satisfied with how her season started.
"It’s always good for an athlete's mental capacity when the first competition of the season is done and dusted, and you know where you are in your programme and you know what to work on. It’s great to have started the season without injuries and to come away with a silver in the 200m and a bronze in the 400m was satisfying."
The Paralympian said she felt relieved and focused for her race, saying that as an athlete you learn to deal with whatever comes your way on the day.
“It was also quite cool to be woken up at 6 am on the Monday morning when we were supposed to run our 400m, to alarms going off warning of severe lightning and thunderstorms. The streets of Dubai were flooded the track was flooded and there was hail in Abu Dhabi, so all the events were postponed for a day.”
The athlete who took up sprinting when she was 32 brought home a bronze medal in the women's 400m T37 at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, her medal was Team SA's fifth medal.
“It’s always so encouraging to know that people are so interested and involved in what I’m doing and that what I’m doing encourages or inspires others. I’d like to thank every supporter. I don’t think sprinting is an individual sport, it’s a team and that also includes the supporter network.”
T37 is for athletes with movement and coordination moderately affected down one side. They have to compensate for asymmetry in the start, stride and overall power distribution.
“My first international event in Sharjah (UAE) the first time I ever ran on a synthetic track and I fell on my face in the 200m, but got back up and finished (fell) over the finish line to get a silver.”
James said you are never too old to dream and never too old to start. When you fall, you have to get up quickly and keep on going and not be afraid to take a risk.
Talking about how she prepares mentally ahead of competitions, she said she walks her dog or climbs mountains to clear her thoughts.
“Up until race day, I just try to let life happen as you can’t control everything. But when race day comes I become very anti-social, some people might think I’m rude. I go into silent mode. I get into the zone and try to stay there. I have some routine things that I do before lining up for the start, and I just try to keep that focus.”