With the 2024 Paris Olympics drawing to a close on Sunday, the focus now shifts to the Paris Paralympic Games, scheduled to take place from 28 August to 8 September. From a local perspective, all eyes will be on the Soutpansberg’s 38-year-old Sheryl James, who will be competing in her second Paralympic Games.

For Sheryl to be included in the SA squad is no small feat. Not only is she a Soutpansberger, but she is also the only athlete from Limpopo to be selected as one of the initial 26 athletes to represent Team South Africa. As for her participation in this year’s Paralympics, she will compete in the T37 100m, 200m, and 400m categories. She is one of only three previous Paralympic medallists, having won a bronze medal in the 400m T37 race for women at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in 2020. The other two Paralympic medallists are Pieter du Preez (one gold medal in cycling) and Louzanne Coetzee (one bronze and one silver medal in athletics).

Sheryl has already departed for the Creps Montpellier high-performance centre in Montpellier, France, to help her acclimatise. She was joined by teammate Mpumelelo Mhlongo and one of the team’s coaches, with the rest of the South African team arriving in France on Sunday, 11 August. Team SA will train there until 21 August, when they will move up to Paris.

From a personal perspective, Sheryl was in good spirits this week after a short break visiting family on the beaches of Montpellier over the weekend. “I've acclimatised rather well, getting into my stride. I enjoyed watching the Olympics with fellow athlete Mpumi [Mpumelelo], his wife, and coach Jason, and celebrating the success of our athletes, who put in an all-out effort to produce some of their best performances yet,” said Sheryl in a WhatsApp interview.

Since Monday, however, her and Team SA’s focus has shifted, and the team is now hard at work. “Now that the Olympics is over, focus has been geared up a notch. My fellow teammates have arrived, and excitement is building. I am looking forward to some good sessions with fellow Paralympians,” said Sheryl.

Sheryl’s first participation in the Paris Paralympics will be on 30 August with the 200m heats, and the 200m finals will be decided in two sessions. On 2 September, the 400m heats will take place, with the 400m final being decided on 3 September. On 4 September, the 100m heats will take place, with the final scheduled for 5 September.

In the meantime, her mum and dad, Sandy and Chris James from Louis Trichardt, are getting ready to join their daughter in France. They will be departing for the Paris Paralympics on 28 August. Hopefully, their presence will help calm the nerves.