PARALYMPICS 2024: 'I thrive under very pressured situations' - Para-athlete Puseletso Mabote
The 19-year-old is heading to his second Paralympic Games, and plans to shatter his personal bests.
Para-athlete Puseletso Mabote will represent South Africa at the 2024 Paralympics in track and field. Picture: Jacques Nelles/ Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURG – In 2010, Puseletso Mabote underwent an emergency amputation after a truck crashed into the family vehicle he was in while on his way to school.
The accident claimed his right leg from above the knee.
“I was involved in a car accident in 2010 and needed an amputation after the accident. And after that, three years after the car accident, I was introduced to Michael Stevens and Johan Snyders, who introduced me to track and field”, said Mabote to Eyewitness News.
Mabote and many other Paralympians were profiled ahead of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, which began on Thursday.
Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund saw potential in Mabote, and in 2019 helped him get into King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. That same year, he set a new world record in the men’s 200m T63 final at the 2019 World Para Athletics Junior Championships.
“Every day boils down to routine; if I deviate from my routine, it’s going to throw me off a little bit. Every day has its routine balancing school and practice, and we coordinate according to the competitions throughout the whole year. So every day after school, I go straight to practice. It’s a matter of me switching between school mode and training mode.”
ALSO READ MORE:
- PARALYMPICS 2024: 'Nothing comes on a silver platter' - track athlete Collen Mahlalela
- PARALYMPICS 2024: Swimmer Kat Swanepoel on having her world flipped upside down, and flying Team SA's flag high
- PARALYMPICS 2024: ‘I want to make my country proud' - SA to be represented in Boccia for the first time
Puseletso Mabote in training. Picture: Jacques Nelles/Eyewitness News
The 19-year-old is heading to his second Paralympic Games. At his debut at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021, he set the men’s 100m T63 African record, and a new personal best time 00:12.64. Mabote also competed in the men’s Men long jump T63 final.
“I thrive under very pressured situations. So, environments like the Paralympic Games, environments like the World Championships as well, I thrive under those types of environments. That's where I perform at my very best.
"I feel like I get more and more excited leading up to the competition, so I don't have to work as much on my mental prep leading into the competition or the major championship. My mind is already there because it's excited.”
Mabote won silver for South Africa in the men’s 100m T63 final at the Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships, and set a new African record in the long jump.
T63 is for runners with movement moderately affected in one leg, or the absence of limbs above the knee.
"Going into the games I ran my PB [personal best] earlier this year at the World Championships, 00:12.04, and it's currently the African record in the T63 category. In the long jump as well, I jumped a legal PB; my unofficial PB is way further than that. My legal PB in the long jump is 603. I'm planning to shatter that."
At the national championships earlier in the year, the athlete broke the world record in the men’s T63 200m in a time of 00:25.12, and clocked African records in both the 100m (00:12.23) and long jump (5.93) items in his division.