Sasol on Wednesday announced a R3,5 million sponsorship of the South African paralympic team.
The sponsorship comes at a time when preparations for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics are just beginning to take shape.
In the 2004 Paralympics in Athens the South African team returned with 35 medals including 15 gold, 13 silver and seven bronze medals and are hoping to improve their medal tally in Beijing.
Chairperson of High Performance Commission of Disability Sport South Africa, Pieter Badenhorst, said: "Sasol's sponsorship is critical for the South African Paralympic team to continue improving and bringing home more medals.
"Our athletes have done us very proud over the years. But there is no time to rest on our laurels."
Badenhorst added that the standard of Paralympic competition had improved vastly. "Many nations are taking sport for people with a disability more seriously now as is evident by the increase in the number of participating nations and improved overall results at the Paralympics," concluded Badenhost.
The aim of the sponsorship is to develop the next generation of disabled sports stars and to serve as an inspiration to all South Africans. Improved funding will enable opportunities to be provided to all previously disadvantaged segments of the population. It will also aid in identifying new talent.
World class athletes like Natalie Du Toit, Oscar Pistorius and Ernst Van Dyk will be the key focus in the sponsorship. Van Dyk was honoured with the award of World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for 2006 at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Barcelona last month, while both Du Toit and Pistorius both won double gold at the recent Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.
No comments:
Post a Comment