MOSSEL BAY SPORTS NEWS - Mossel Bay's Ricardi Matthee (16) is now the Western Cape champion in the under 66kg category after competing in the Western Cape Judo Open Championships in Paarl on 3 September.
Ricardi is a Grade 11 learner at Curro Mossel Bay private school.
He was up against three other contenders in the 66kg category.
With judo, one has to win every fight in order to win the gold medal. Ricardi won all three of his fights.
Speaking about his remarkable feat, Ricardi said: "When I did my first fight in the under 66kg category, I was really nervous, but when I won, I had the confidence to go on and win the next two. I was the lightest of all the competitors. I weigh 62kg. I have now achieved my Western Cape colours for judo."
Silver
Another feat was that he won a silver medal in the 73kg category at the championships, in which the other competitors were even more heavy than he.
Ricardi is visually impaired, but these championships were for normal judoka. He is also a track and field athlete and he does powerlifting, which takes much endurance. He has won a number of accolades for these sports too.
On 10 September he will be competing in the Western Cape Athletics Championships organised by the South African Sports Association for the Physically Disabled (SASAPD), taking place at Stellenbosch University.
Ricardi will be competing in the 100m, 200m and long jump.
Record holder
He is a record holder in all three of these events for the physically disabled. He will be competing in the U18 age group.
He has been nominated for the Sportsman with a Disability Award in the Western Cape Sports Awards, which he will be attending on 17 September.
He won the Eden Sport Council Sportsman with a Disability Award at the annual prize giving held in Oudtshoorn on 26 August.
Although Ricardi is visually impaired, he does not run with a guide.
Another achievement is that he is on the shortlist for the SA Athletics team to attend the African Union Region 5 Youth Games in Malawi in December. This team is chosen by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SAFCOC). Ricardi was chosen to attend the Region 5 Games in Lesotho last year, but because of Covid-19 South Africa did not attend the games.
Ricardi is part of Eden Sport Academy in Mossel Bay.
Ricardi Matthee (right) in action.Ricardi dominating his opponent.
Ricardi Matthee in the number one spot on the podium at the judo championships.
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