24 Oct 2000: Mark Maciej (silver) of Poland, Paul Barnett (gold) of Australia and Hannes Venter (bronze) of South Africa during the medal presentaion for the Mens 100M Breaststroke SB9 Final held at Olympic Park during the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games,Sydney, Australia.DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Scott Barbour.

Hannes competed in 6 events at the IPC Swimming World Championships Christchurch 1998 (Christchurch, New Zealand).

In 2000 at the Sydney Paralympic Games, he won bronze in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB9 and silver in the Men's 50 m Freestyle S10.

Elizabeth hails from the small town of Kiepersol in Mpumalanga, and she graduated from the University of Pretoria. She also has qualifications from Harvard University and the London School of Economics. She is currently a Director and Co-Owner at Sunreaped Pty Ltd.

Elizabeth competed at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta as well as the 2000 Games in Sydney. She also swam at the 1998 IPC World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.

In both Atlanta and Christchurch, she won a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle S10.

In 1996 she finished fifth in the 100m freestyle, sixth in the 100m butterfly but was disqualified in the heat of the 100m backstroke. In the 2000 Games she finished fourth in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke and finished seventh in the 400m freestyle.

https://www.paralympic.org/elizabeth-prinsloo 

Elizabeth Prinsloo

Swimmer Elizabeth Prinsloo said that the ceremony finally brought home the fact that she was at the Paralympics.

"It was such an awesome feeling," said Prinsloo, who won bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics. "It was like I had arrived, like the reality of where I was finally set in."

Prinsloo has trained 24 hours a week to improve on her Atlanta 50 metres freestyle bronze. "I'm in the best possible shape I can be in," said the pretty Pretorian who takes to the water in the 400m on Sunday.

"My coach Branny Ivkovic has done the most amazing job - I couldn't ask for better."

Prinsloo, who is disabled in one leg, used to compete against able-bodied swimmers at school until a Paralympian administrator saw her walking at poolside four-and-half years ago. "They approached me and told me that I would probably be able to qualify in Paralympics, so it was the start of a new life for me."

Six months later she was chasing medals in Atlanta.

https://www.news24.com/news24/emotions-run-high-in-sa-camp-20001019

Craig was born in Johannesburg in March 1979. He swam with coach Theo Verster at the St Andrew’s Dragons Swimming Club based at St Andrew’s School for Girls in Bedfordview.

Craig competed in his first Paralympic games in 1996 where he won bronze in both the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle. Four years later in the 2000 Summer Paralympics he again won two bronze medals, this time in the 50m freestyle and 200m freestyle, he also finished fourth in the 100m freestyle, fifth in the 50m butterfly and missed out on qualifying for the final of the 100m breaststroke and 200m medley. 

Champion Groenewald is no stranger to success, having been declared the top male swimmer at both the 4th and 5th INAS-FID (International Federation for people with Intellectual Disability) World Swimming Championships in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

At the 2009 Global Games for intellectually impaired athletes, which took place in the Czech Republic earlier this month, with swimmer Craig Groenewald winning the award for best male athlete of the Games and the men’s athletics team placing third overall.

Groenewald, who received the Most Successful Male Athlete Trophy from the President of the Senate of the Czech Parliament, scored more points than anyone else out of the 818 athletes in action at the Global Games. He also received the Top Male Swimmer award, thanks to his five individual gold medals and two relay bronze medals.

Besides his achievements in the pool, Craig is also an open water swimmer who competed in the 8 Mile Club at the 2015 Midmar Mile. In 12 attempts at the Midmar Mile, the world’s largest open water swimming event, Groenewald, competing against the able-bodied swimmers in the Iron Man category, is unbeaten.

Craig Groenewald with coach Theo Verster of the Dragons SC from Bedfordview, Johannesburg.

Craig Groenewald’s Aquatic Passion: Special Olympian, Paralympic Athlete

02 October 2012

PHOENIX, Arizona, October 2. NUMEROUS world records, magazine articles, TV appearances, and medals from international competitions … no, we're not talking about Michael Phelps. We're talking about an athlete that has had to overcome incredible genetic obstacles to silence naysayers, and still faced heartbreak this past summer when, despite predictions to win numerous medals for his native South Africa, he was not selected for the London Paralympics.

Meet Craig Groenewald, a 33-year-old Intellectually Impaired Paralympic swimmer. Regarded by many as one of the best disabled athletes in the world, he currently holds three Paralympic world records and is ranked top-three in the world in nearly every swimming event.

“From an early age Craig had shown a natural affinity for water,” his mother, Pam Groenewald says. “Even as a baby bath time was his favourite time of the day. Over the years his passion for water grew.”

At age 10, Groenewald's family moved from Johannesburg to Cape Town, nearer to the South African coast. This proved the perfect opportunity for their neighbour to teach him how to surf. He quickly took up the sport, causing the initial spark that ignited his aquatic passion.

When his father was transferred back to Johannesburg, Groenewald had to give up surfing. But he didn't give up water. He competed in local swimming events, showing his natural talent. In 1995, he began training with a professional swimming coach. That same year, he was selected to swim at the Special Olympics World Games, where he won two gold and one silver medal, and attracted attention for his natural athletic abilities.

In the years that followed, Groenewald competed in the 1996 and 2000 Paralympic Games in the S14 classification, a category specifically for athletes with intellectual disabilities. He represented South Africa at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games alongside his countryman, Theo Verster, who competed in the 100 and 200 butterfly in the preceding Olympic Games. Several years later, Groenewald's mother approached Verster, asking him to coach Craig

 “I have always admired his courage and great swimming ability,” says Verster. “He has been an inspiration to me. When his mom called me the first time to enquire about swimming with me, I was scared because I was such a young coach and having to coach a legend like Craig was a daunting thought for me.”

Verster accepted the position, and Groenewald continued to improve. He competed in National and International meets, all the while breaking Special Olympic and Paralympic records and adding to his collection of medals.

“Over the years his passion for water grew and it has become his goal in life to outdo his personal best in every race and every competition,” says Pam. “Many times over his career Craig has been told he could not do something and through sheer determination has proven his doubters wrong again and again.”

Groenewald has faced a number of obstacles on his way to becoming one of the most decorated swimmers in South African history. After receiving bronze medals in both the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, he was poised to return to the Paralympic stage at the Athens 2004 Games.

Unfortunately, the S14 category was banned from the Athens 2004 Paralympics. We'll never know what feats Groenewald may have accomplished, considering he won the South African “Disabled Sportsman of the Year” that same year, and was top-ranked among his Paralympic class in nearly every event. Four years later, at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, it was deja vu: no S14 category was on the roster. It was a difficult time for Groenewald; he held seven world records at the time and was eager to win medals for South Africa.

Then came a ray of light: the International Paralympic Committee decided that the London 2012 Paralympics would include the S14 classification. Groenewald swam at the South African Trials, and qualified to represent his country at the Paralympic Games. But, once again, he was denied a Paralympic ticket.

“This year (he) qualified for all (his) events for the London Paralympics, but the South African authorities did not select any intellectually impaired swimmers,” Craig's mother, Pam, told Swimming World. “This was heartbreaking for (Craig) as (he) had been preparing for these Paralympics for many years and (he) had a good chance of medalling.”

So, instead, Groenewald turned his efforts to the open water. It was his first love, and his aquatic beginnings came from days surfing off the coast of Cape Town. Last month, he competed in the RCP Tiburon Mile near San Francisco. Shortly after, he flew to Puerto Rico to race in the first Special Olympics World Aquatics Invitational, where he won the 1500 meter open water race.

Groenewald is a veteran open water swimmer. His first major open water accomplishment was in 1996, when he raced the Midmar Mile, the world's largest open water swimming event, off the coast of South Africa. He placed first in the disabled section, accomplishing the same feat the following year. Then, in 2002, he outdid himself and his competitors, by finishing the Midmar Mile ahead of Ironman competitors and Triathletes.

“I love being outdoors especially swimming in lakes, dams and especially the sea as it is very calming and the challenges are different to that of swimming in a pool,” says Groenewald.

Support for including open water swimming in the Special Olympics has been growing. It first debuted as an event at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Although Special Olympic open water events are still limited, many people with intellectual impairments compete in open water races around the globe. At the RCP Tiburon Mile, Special Olympians Aisling Beacom of Ireland and Sam Silver of California joined Craig in the event.

However, Groenewald has goals outside of the Special Olympics. He continues his swimming training with the hope of one day being selected for the “normal” Olympic swimming team.

“He is one of the hardest working, committed and loyal swimmers I have ever come across, and I knew that we could take on the world as a team,” says Verster. “I feel blessed every day to have been given an opportunity to work with him. He is one of the most humble people I have ever met in my life and I know that we will be close for many years to come.”

https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/craig-groenewalds-aquatic-passion-special-olympian-paralympic-athlete/

My name is Craig Groenewald and I am a Paralympian. I have held as many as 7 world records at one time. During my career I have broken 18 world records. I am currently highly ranked in the world in the 400m, 200m, 100m and 50m Freestyle, 100m and 50m Butterfly and 200m and 400m Individual Medley. I have attended two Paralympic Games and have medalled at both these events. I currently hold 13 South African records.

I coached the ‘A’ Team at St David’s Marist Inanda for 12 years; have also done squad coaching at St Andrew’s School for Girls as well as teaching pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds (St Andrew’s School for Girls outreach programme – “Umbambiswawo”) to swim for the past 6 years.

I have many years of experience teaching pupils who have never been in the water to coaching National swimmers. After achieving to the highest level I would like to give back to the community by passing on my knowledge.

I am a qualified Learn to Swim (LTS) Instructor and I have completed my Coaching – Level 1 through Swimming South Africa. I have also completed my CPR and First Aid Level 1 courses. I am insured through the South Africa Water Fitness Association.

I train the Craighall Senior Swimming Squad as well as run Sarah's Swim Academy Squad Training, teach Learn to Swim and Adult lessons.

https://www.sarahswimacademy.co.za/craig-groenewald.html

Terblanche injured his neck and lost the use of his left arm after a car accident when he was two years old. He attended Laerskool Anton van Wouw and then Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria.

Terblanche won a gold medal at the 1994 IPC Swimming World Championships in Malta, at the age of 14.

At the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta Jen Jeques won a gold medal in the 2300m IM SM8, and bronze in the 100m butterfly S8.

He was presented with a special award by President Mandela and awarded Sportsman of the Year for Pretoria schools.  

How Terblanche beats the tension

13 September 1996

Loud music eased the tension for Jean-Jacques Terblanche before his big race in Atlanta, and it inspired him to win gold, writes Julian Drew

PARALYMPIC champion Jean-Jacques Terblanche is not an athlete who succumbs to big-match nerves. As he sat in the call-up room waiting for his 200m individual medley final at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Centre, where Penny Heyns had spun her magic spell a few weeks earlier, he was the image of relaxed composure.

While all around him stared nervously into space or tried to psyche each other out, the youthful Terblanche listened to music with a wide grin on his face, Nine Inch Nails driving through his head — his choice of music, not the latest technique from the land of the Blue Bulls to get sportsmen revved up.

It’s industrial music, not funny music. The grin was for the antics of one of his rivals who was doing his best rendition of Fred Deburghgraeve’s giant frog leaps while emitting strange grunting noises. Olympic 100m breaststroke champion Deburghgraeve might unsettle the opposition with his pre-race ritual but Terblanche merely found this display amusing.

Although by nature Terblanche is not easily ruffled, he takes his swimming very seriously and has engaged the services of a sports psychologist in his build-up to the Paralympics. “I saw him twice before Malta (1994 world championships) and around 10 times before Atlanta,” says Terblanche. “My mum first suggested I go to see a sports psychologist and I thought if it would help then why not.”

Besides visualisation techniques and special exercises to loosen up and stay relaxed, he was told to listen to music before the race. “If you are tense you should listen to laid-back music to calm you down but I’m so laid back I have to listen to loud, heavy music,” says Terblanche by way of explaining his usual pre-race fare of Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin or Nine Inch Nails.

Even in his first international competition when he won the world title in Malta as a 14-year-old, Terblanche handled himself like a seasoned campaigner twice his age.

“In Malta, this guy sat opposite me and started staring at me, but I wasn’t worried because my sports psychologist told me that’s what they would do. I just stared back at him and it wasn’t 30 seconds before he got up and walked away. He’s never tried that again because he knows it doesn’t work on me.”

Perhaps after the incredible success of the Paralympic team in Atlanta — 28 medals from 41 athletes — the South African public will take our disabled sportsmen and women a little more seriously. But should anyone still doubt them then the punishing preparation behind Terblanche’s triumphs should help to sway them. “Before Malta, I was doing between 5 000m and 6 000m a day in the pool but this year I increased that to 8 000m,” he says. In comparison, Penny Heyns does 6 000m in a typical session.

Terblanche did his daily workouts after school, slogging away for close on three hours. “My school work became quite a problem because often I’d be so tired I’d just fall asleep while doing my homework. The opportunity to compete in the Paralympics doesn’t come often though and I decided I must just go for it,” says Terblanche, who will do his matric next year.

Although that tough training regimen carried him to the gold medal and two world records, it didn’t come without its setbacks. In the early part of this year, he got breaststroker's knee and couldn’t kick properly in training, and then two months before the Games he injured his shoulder and had to stop training for five months and have cortisone injections. “It was so painful at one stage that I couldn’t even bring my arm over my head to pull a single stroke,” he recalls with a grimace.

Those injuries may have cost Terblanche vital training time at a crucial stage in his programme, but they still could not keep him from achieving his goal. Just as he had in Malta where he set his first world record, Terblanche came from behind on the backstroke leg, the second of the four disciplines in the medley, and hauled Germany’s Holger Kimmig in on his favourite breaststroke leg before setting up a thrilling finish in the freestyle.

Kimmig is faster than the South African in the freestyle and as he turned just a fraction of a second down on Terblanche he must have sensed victory. Terblanche had paced himself to perfection though and pulled steadily clear to win by more than three seconds, eclipsing his world record from the heats of 2:42.36 to set a new mark of 2:40.83.

“In the heats, I felt as though I was stuck in the water and I was really struggling so I was surprised when I broke the world record. In the evening everything was perfect though and I really enjoyed it. My stroke was just right and to break the world record and know that you have done your best is an incredible feeling,” says Terblanche.

While the efforts and achievements of Terblanche and his fellow Paralympians are certainly the equal of any of South Africa’s sports stars, they still receive scant recognition and are often treated as either superheroes for overcoming such circumstances or special cases deserving of sympathy. The truth is that disabled sportsmen, and people with disabilities in general, just want to be treated like everyone else and given the same recognition as their able-bodied counterparts.

Terblanche, who lost the use of his left arm after a car accident when he was two which injured his neck, is fortunate that he has been exposed to less discrimination than most disabled people. “I’m lucky because if I put my hand in my pocket you can’t really see that I’m disabled. I don’t need much help from anyone but if you are in a wheelchair it’s a totally different situation.

“Many people just don’t know how to behave around people with disabilities and although they mean well it can be frustrating when they try to help. I would rather ask for help than have somebody offer it to me,” says Terblanche.

His swimming career started when he was seven and he entered a school inter-house gala and came second in the 50m breaststroke. “I’m still so proud of that silver medal,” he says. A short while later he started training with his friend’s swimming coach, Linda de Jager, and he has been with her ever since.

“I must say she has been a very supportive coach. She never made me feel different from all the others, which is the way I prefer it. I think that’s the best thing she could have done for me because I was just like all the other little kids.”.

In standard one, he was actually the top-ranked 50m breaststroker in Northern Transvaal and it was only when he was 12 that he discovered there was competition for the disabled. “I entered five events at the national championships in Stellenbosch, competing in the under-14 age group, and I broke four South African records,” he says.

That was the beginning of a career whose rise has been meteoric and which should go on for many years to come. “I’m still young so to stop now would be crazy. My times can only get faster and I’m going to carry on competing at the world championships and Paralympics,” says the young man from Afrikaans High School in Pretoria who wants to go to hotel school in Geneva after matriculating and spending a year working and travelling in England.

https://mg.co.za/article/1996-09-13-how-terblanche-beats-the-tension/