WRAP: Team SA’s Mpumelo Mhlongo misses out on long jump T64 medal, breaks T44 world record

Mpumelelo Mhlongo was unable to add to South Africa’s medal tally when he placed fifth in the men’s long jump T64 at the Paris Paralympics on Wednesday evening.

While Mhlongo’s best jump of 7.12m was not good enough to earn him a medal in the T64 event, he did break the world record — which he held — for the T44 category.

Mhlongo was aiming to win his medal after winning South Africa’s only gold medal so far in the men’s 100m - T44 on Sunday.

On the track, Sheryl James will get another chance to fight for a medal after she qualified for the women’s 100m - T37 final.

James clocked a time of 13.69 as she finished heat 1 in third place behind American Taylor Swanson and Fenfen Jiang of China.

In the pool, Christian Sadie placed seventh in a brilliant swim in the men’s 50m freestyle - S7 final. In doing so, Sadie broke the African record.

Earlier on Wednesday, cyclist Nicolas Pieter du Preez and the wheelchair tennis duo of Donald Ramphadi and Lucas Sithole won bronze medals at the Paris Paralympics to increase South Africa’s medal tally to four.

Competing in the men’s H1 individual time trial, Du Preez managed to cross the finish line in a time of 36:07.05 to win the bronze medal.

In the wheelchair tennis quad doubles bronze match, Ramphadi and Sithole overcame the Brazilian pair of Leandro Pena and Ymanitu Silva 6-2, 4-6, 10-8 to secure a podium finish.

In the para equestrian individual event Grade IV, Philippa Johnson-Dwyer flew the South African flag high as she finished 14th overall with a total score of 63.889.

Kerwin Noemdo also missed out on a podium place after finishing fifth in the men’s shot put - F46 final with a best throw of 15.63m.

In the morning on Wednesday, Alani Ferreira did not advance from the women’s 100m freestyle S12 after placing sixth in heat two.

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