Disabled Swimmers

One of the earliest para swimmers from South Africa was probably Neville Cohen. In 1956 Neville Cohen won the breaststroke final at the Stoke Mandeville Games. Read more about Neville here...

In November 1964 South Africa sent a team to the 1964 Paralympic Games. Paradoxically, South Africa began to compete at the Paralympics after being barred from participating in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964.

Gordon Popperwell (Western Province) won a silver medal in breaststroke, while in the women's events, A. Somerset won a gold and two silver medals and N. Thesen won a bronze medal. Rhodesians Lynette Gilchrist and Leslie Manson-Bishop won 6 medals of which 5 were gold.

Willie Nel broke two world records at the 1968 South African Paraplegic Championships in Kimberley and then won a gold medal at the 1968 Paralympic Games held in Tel Aviv. David Lewis, a pupil at the Elizabeth Conradie School in Kimberley, also swam in these Paralympic Games, winning two medals.

Despite setting two world records at the Games in Kimberley, Riana van der Schyff did not get to swim at the 1968 Paralympic Games. At the SA Paraplegic Championships in 1969, Riana set three new world records!

The 1972 Paralympic Games, the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972, two weeks before the Summer Olympics were held in Munich. The outstanding athlete of these Games was Riana van der Schyff from South Africa who won four gold medals in swimming and two silver and a bronze medal in athletics field events (discus, javelin and shot put). Willie Bosch (1) and M. van der Riet (2) won gold in the men's swimming. South African swimmers, four male and five female, won a total of 18 medals - eight of which were gold. The Rhodesians won 9 medals - two gold - and Sandra James set a world record. She also won a gold medal in the Women's javelin throw.

Hester du Preez achieved set a world record at the 1978 South African Games in Bloemfontein. 

1976 was the last time the Springbok Paralympians were allowed to compete at the Games, even though the Rhodesians were refused visas to enter Canada. M. Schaefer won bronze in women's backstroke while M. van der Riet (first name unknown) won two silver medals and a bronze with J. Crouse also winning a second-place silver medal. 

The Netherlands, the host country of the 1980 Summer Paralympics, adopted a motion declaring South Africa's participation in the 1980 Games "undesirable". South Africa was subsequently absent from the Paralympic Games until 1992. The Rhodesians were allowed back to compete in 1980 - as Zimbabwe - winning 4 medals in swimming.

South Africa was subsequently absent from the Paralympic Games until 1992, at which point it also made its return to the Olympics, where Tadhg Slattery (below) won a gold medal in the 100m breaststroke in a world record time.

Terence Parkin, a deaf swimmer from South Africa, was born on April 12, 1980, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Over a 15-year sporting career, he competed internationally and professionally for 11 years. Terence’s accomplishments include winning a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics and becoming the most successful sportsman in the history of the Deaflympics since its inception in 1929, with an impressive collection of 29 gold medals, along with one silver and one bronze medal in cycling across 4 Deaflympic Games. He holds an astounding 50 Deaf World Records in both long and short course swimming, earning him the nicknames ‘Silent Torpedo’ and the Michael Phelps of the Deaflympics.

Taking a break from swimming, Terence ventured into triathlons and cycling, winning the World Deaf Cycling Championships’ 120km road race in California in 2005. Locally, he has participated in major events like the Dusi Canoe Marathon, Sani2C, Amashovashova, and the 94.7 Cycle Challenge.

Terence’s accolades include multiple awards such as World Deaf Sportsman of the Year (1997, 2000, 2001, 2005), CISS Sportsman of the Century (2000), SA Schools Sportsman of the Year (2002), and Gold Presidential Awards (2000, 2001, 2002).

His remarkable success is a result of unwavering dedication to training, spending countless hours in the water or on his bike daily. Terence’s relentless pursuit of excellence has set a benchmark for deaf sports globally, inspiring fellow athletes like Roland Schoeman, who marvel at his intense training regimen. In a notable act of heroism, Parkin rescued a young boy from drowning in 2011.