Zanele Situ

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Ntombizanele Situ, better known as Zanele Situ, was a South African Paralympic athlete who mainly competed in javelin. She was born on 19 January 1971 in Kokstad, South Africa. At age 12, she developed weakness in her legs due to spinal tuberculosis, which left her paralyzed from the fourth vertebra down and using a wheelchair.

Situ started competing internationally in 1998. At the IPC World Championships in Birmingham, she won gold in the javelin and bronze in the discus. At the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, she won gold in the javelin and silver in the discus, becoming the first Black South African woman to win a Paralympic gold.

In 2003 she was awarded South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga (silver) for her achievements. She defended her javelin title at the 2004 Athens Paralympics and received the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award for embodying the spirit of the Games.

Her career had ups and downs afterward. She won bronze at the Christchurch World Championships in 2011, and bronze medals at Lyon (2013) and Doha (2015). She finished fourth at the 2012 London Paralympics and did not medal in Beijing 2008.

In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, Situ won a bronze in the javelin with a personal best of 17.90 meters and served as the South African flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Zanele Situ passed away on 1 November 2023 at the age of 52.