South Africa's para surfers dream of competing in the Paralympics▼

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Published 130d ago

<p>Having lost both his legs and arms to meningitis when he was only a few months old, 16 year old Raemondo Lessing is now one of South Africa&#039;s best para surfers – and is dreaming of a chance to show his skills at the Paralympics next year.</p> <p>"I still feel it&#039;s a dream. I&#039;ve been surfing for two years. I started off as a person who can&#039;t even balance," he said after riding a few waves off the beach in Cape Town.</p> <p>"If I could be in the Paralympics, what more could I do? Because that&#039;s the only place I&#039;m working myself up to, being in the Paralympics."</p> <p>Surfing burst onto the Olympic calendar at the last Games in Tokyo in 2021 and will also feature when Paris hosts in 2024.</p> <p>But the discipline is yet to make its Paralympic debut. Para athletes have high hopes this will happen at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.</p> <p>Among them are Lessing and fellow 16-year-old Thando Ngcikwe, who on Saturday are to compete in the first stage of the newly launched Global Para Surf League event in Muizenberg, Cape Town.</p> <p>The pair grew up in Khayelitsha, an impoverished township with a reputation for drugs and crime.</p> <p>They were introduced to the sport at a "surf therapy" session organised by South African surfing champion and coach Roxy Davis in 2021.</p> <p>"It was one of the most amazing experiences I&#039;ve ever had," says Ngcikwe, a double leg amputee.</p> <p>The two got "addicted" to the sport and soon joined a team run by Davis&#039;s foundation.</p> <p>"Surfing, I feel stress free. I feel like I&#039;m in my own zone, in my own shell," says Lessing.</p> <p>"I lock all the bad memories and all that stuff behind my head. Just focusing on what I&#039;m doing."</p> <p>Two assistants help him catch the waves and end his ride. Once on the board "I surf with my tummy," he says.</p> <p>In two years, Lessing and Ngcikwe have obtained good results competing at the national level, with the former already making it to the national team.</p> <p>They are now hoping to make a bigger splash.</p> <p>"Surfing is in the Olympics ... Para athletes deserve to be in the Paralympics too," says Davis.</p> Source