Taonere Banda qualifies for Paris Paralympics

Source: The Times Group Malawi
Author: Mphatso Malidadi

HOISTING THE MALAWI FLAG HIGH -- Taonere races to the finishing line

Taonere Banda has become the second Malawian para-athlete to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics after beating the qualification time during qualifiers in Morocco on Sunday.

The 22-year-old runner has made it in the 400 metres (m) T13 category after clocking 1:07:95, beating the minimum qualification time of 1:09:00.

She has joined Mphatso Saukire who qualified for the Paris event after an impressive medal-winning showing at the 2022 African Union Region Five Youth Games which Malawi hosted in Lilongwe.

During the regional competition, Saukire made the grade in the 400m T12 category after finishing the distance in 53:78 seconds, overcoming the minimum entry qualification of 54:00 seconds.

Taonere had her turn to book the ticket to the European country and she did just that by making the most of the opportunity she had at the 2024 Grand Prix in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

Her five-star performance saw her clinching a bronze medal after finishing behind champion Aliaksandra Amialeshka (1:05:41) and runner-up Sarai Chavez Nava (1:07:63).

The top winners also set their personal best records.

This is the first time for a Malawian para-athlete to qualify for the Paralympics as opposed to merely participating on solidarity as has been the case for many years.

On Saturday, Taonere also competed in the 1,500m but failed to meet the standard entry point of 5:31:00 despite achieving another personal best of 5:40:00.

Her compatriots also improved their personal best records.

Saukire also took part in a different competition and won bronze after improving his record in a 200m contest of the T12 men's category to 24:54.

Another Malawian, Moses Misoya, competed in the 200m of the men's T13 and achieved his personal best after posting 24:54 to win silver.

He however missed out on qualifying.

Malawi Paralympic Committee (MPC) President James Chiutsi said they are delighted with Taonere's qualification.

"This means we will have two ambassadors at Paralympics in France. So we are very excited as MPC. It is a manifest that our long term strategic plan that takes us to the Los Angeles 2028 Games is right on course," Chiutsi said.

Taonere said she was challenged to aim high.

"My desire was to qualify and now I can start focusing on the Paralympics," she said.

The country's delegation to the games in Morocco is expected to return home tomorrow.