PARALYMPICS 2024: Louzanne Coetzee wins bronze in 1,500m

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's para-athlete Louzanne Coetzee has won bronze, the country's second medal, in the women's 1,500m race.

Coetzee and her guide, Estean Badenhorst, came third, running a personal best time of 4:35.49 in the T11 classification.

Ethiopia's Gate Tesfaw broke the world record and won gold in a time of 4:27.68, and the silver medal went to China's Shanshan He in a time of 4:32.82.

T11 is for runners with a near-total visual impairment.

Coetzee competed with two separate guides, Estean Badenhorst in the 1,500m, and Claus Kempen in the marathon.

The athlete was born with Leber congenital amaurosis, a condition that results in undeveloped retinas and loss of vision.

She completely blind track, road, and cross-country Paralympian, starting her running career in her first year at the University of the Free State at the age of 19.

Coetzee won silver in the women’s 1,500m T11 and bronze in the Marathon T12 at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. She was the flag bearer for South Africa at the closing ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

In Rio, Coetzee was disqualified after a ruling that her guide had stepped in front of her.

At the 2024 Para Athletics World Championships, Coetzee and Badenhorst won the bronze medal in the Women’s 1,500m T11 Final, in a time of 4:50.78.

At the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships, Coetzee won silver in the women’s 1,500m T11 in a time of 4:48.13.

Coetzee's other achievement is breaking the world record in the T11 women’s 5,000m in 2018.

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