The para-rower recently represented the country at the 17th Gavirate International Para-Rowing Regatta in Italy, where he came fourth in the final.
South African para-rower, Lifa Hlongwa. Picture: Row SA/ Facebook
JOHANNESBURG – Athletes across the globe are trying to qualify for Paris 2024 and one of these athletes is South Africa’s rising star, Lifa Hlongwa.
The para-rower recently represented the country at 17th Gavirate International Para-Rowing Regatta in Italy, where he came fourth in the final.
“I feel my performance was good, it is an improvement compared to last year, so I am very happy where I placed and just encourages me to work hard to get the best performance the next time I compete,” said Hlongwa to Eyewitness News.
The athlete’s fourth-place finish was a huge improvement on his 2022 international results after finishing in 14th position in the first and ninth in the second regatta of the competition.
“I am happy with Lifa’s recent performance at the 17th Gavirate International Para-Rowing Regatta. His performance this year has improved greatly since that of last year’s regatta. This shows that we are on the correct path with regard to Lifa’s training and that he is on an upward trajectory. This year’s performance is also important as it has given us a good indication of where we are in relation to the competition ahead of Paris 2024,” said Para coach, Daniel Louw.
Para-rowing was formerly called adaptive rowing and was first raced at the 2002 World Rowing Championships in Seville.
FILE: National para-rowing coach Daniel Louw. Picture: Row SA/ Facebook.
“I hope to compete at the Paralympics – it’s been a dream of mine ever since I started rowing. And I hope to qualify for Paris 2024 at the World Champs or Continental Qualifiers later this year,” said Hlongwa.
Rowing was introduced into the Paralympic programme in 2005 and at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, it was held for the first time.
The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games had 26 countries competing in para-rowing for 12 medals in four boat classes. The medals were spread among seven countries, with Great Britain winning the bulk of them.
“Para-rowing in South Africa requires two things – exposure and funding. The two go hand-in-hand. The sport falls under rowing, a very small sport in the South African context. This makes it challenging for it to gain the same exposure as larger sporting codes such as football and athletics,” said Louw.
Wishing SSD Rower Lifa Hlongwa all the best as he competes in the Wings for Life World Run on the 5 May in Pretoria at 13:00.
Head down to Irene Agriculture Farm to show him your support! ????#ujalltheway #orangearmy pic.twitter.com/et82s687Py
‘ UJ Sport (@UJ_Sport) May 2, 2019
Para-rowing is uniquely integrated with the World Rowing Federation, FISA, and para-rowers participate alongside able-bodied athletes at some World Rowing Cups and the World Rowing Championships each year.
“The biggest lesson I have learned so far is that para-athletes are similar to able-bodied athletes. They are goal-driven. They are motivated, and they will not give up when it gets challenging, their disabilities are a testimonial to that. The difference is, para-athletes require a little more help with the more mundane actions and a lot more patience,” said Louw.
The BCom Economics and Econometrics student and para-rower at the University of Johannesburg was left paralysed in 2017 after a tackle in a club rugby game went wrong.
Hlongwa told Eyewitness News that he was working on his mental health to better his performance.
“I want to overcome the mental battle in racing to perform better in competition.”
FILE: South Africa’s para-rower Lifa Hlongwa. Picture: Row SA/Facebook.
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