PARALYMPICS 2024: 'It's unbelievable', says swimmer Nathan Hendricks after qualifying for fourth final

JOHANNESBURG – Para-swimmer Nathan Hendricks has qualified for his fourth finals at the Paris Paralympic Games on Tuesday.

In the men’s S13 200m Individual Medley he came eighth in a time of 2:18.36 and will be competing in the finals later tonight at 19h40.

"This is my first Paralympic Games, and I'm super excited about it. I've made four finals out of four so far. I'm super happy. I'm very proud of myself, and it's unbelievable," said Hendricks to Eyewitness News.

S13 means athletes have the least severe vision impairment eligible for Paralympic sports. They have the highest visual acuity and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees radius.

"I didn't think I'd make as many finals, and looking at the short turnarounds, I think God helped me a lot to get through. He was with me, and I think I stayed very calm during these races."

The 19-year-old from Middelburg, Mpumalanga is one of the youngest Team SA members in Paris.

Hendricks told Eyewitness News he had the help of sports psychologist, Theo Bezuidenhout, to prepare mentally ahead of the competition with visualisation techniques.

"Theo Bezuidenhout helped me to not focus too much on the race as that can be against you. So he helped me focus on breathing techniques, and visualise my race, visualise my races and how I would like to execute it."

He was diagnosed with diabetes as a baby and then diagnosed with Stargardt disease, macular dystrophy at the age of 12, a genetic eye disorder that causes progressive vision loss, mainly affecting central vision loss.

"I lost my eyesight. Well, I was diagnosed when I was 12 years old, but I did have eye problems before then, so I could have been 10 years old."

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