02 Sep 2021

The 400 metres T13 runner, Edwin ‘Tiger’ Masuge failed to make it to the podium at the  Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games yesterday.

Even though he finished on position seven with a time of 50.54, expectations were that he would do better in the final, having finished fourth in the semi-finals with a personal best time of 50.13.

Masuge exuded confidence during the race and distributed his energy well.

However, he failed to pick where it mattered most, thereby putting him at a disadvantage.

Nonetheless, national team coach, Katlego Maotwe, lauded Masuge’s good performance that he said was made possible by his hard work, resilience and discipline. “I am proud of him.

He pulled one of the best performances considering that he started training in April,” he said.

He said prior to the competition, the athlete had a number of challenges, which led to lack of proper training owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coach said as an on-campus student, Masuge was not allowed to leave campus between January and March as one of the precautions to control spread of corona virus.

He said they had to squeeze two sessions on weekends in April for endurance to cover for lost time. Furthermore, Maotwe said they only started to work on his speed in June, adding that his performance during the race was something to write home about.

He, however, pleaded with the stakeholders to help come up with long time solutions that would help athletes to prepare for major games.

“These are our diamonds and we know what they are capable of if given resources that will enable them to perform to their best of their abilities,” he said. ENDS