Students in the Faculty of Education who participated in the Paralympic Games returned to South Africa with five medals – three gold, one silver and one bronze.

Charl du Toit, who is studying towards an honours degree in education management at Stellenbosch University (SU), returned to South African with two gold medals. He is the new Paralympic champion in the 100m and 400m in the T37 class. He also set a new world record in the 100m and a new Paralympic record in the 400m.

"It was an amazing experience and the people of Rio were fantastic. I'm very grateful," he said on his return.

Dyan Buis, also an honours student in the Faculty of Education, won gold in the 400m (T38) and bronze in the long jump.

BEd student Anruné Liebenberg won a silver medal in the 400m (T47).

Anruné's dad Rudi and brother Ruanne greeted her with a banner reading 'Welcome back our champ'. "I'm so proud," her dad said. "Not just of Anruné, but of all of them."

Charl, Dyan and Anruné are all part of a training group coached by Dr Suzanne Ferreira from the Department of Sport Science (situated within the Faculty of Education).

Another BEd Honours student – Roxy Burns – competed in the 500m time trial and 3 000m individual pursuit events on the cycling track.

All of these student-athletes are IMAS bursary holders. IMAS stands for Integrated Medicine and Science. This bursary is awarded by the High Performance Unit situated within Maties Sport and focuses on creating a support structure for these athletes with the aim of enhancing their performance.

Prof Maureen Robinson, Dean of the Faculty of Education, congratulated these student-athletes and thanked them for being excellent ambassadors.

"As a faculty we try our best to support student-athletes who perform at the highest level of their sporting code. We are especially proud of these students for what they have achieved on the world stage."

Photo: Dyan Buis

Photo credit: Peartree Photography​