Athlete Profile
Masala Makatu (T12)
Limpopo Province
Background Story
Masala Makatu from Ha Kutama in Limpopo Province made his national debut at the 2024 Toyota SASAPD National Championships where he won gold and set new SA records on the track in the Boys’ under-20 T12 100m (11.79), 200m (23.97), and 400m (55.26) events.
Being one of the developing athletes at Isability Sports Club Limpopo, Masala is being mentored by South African Paralympic athlete, Sheryl James, to help him reach the heights that this talented newcomer to Para athletics is capable of.
At the start of 2025, Masala travelled with Sheryl to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the World Para Athletics Championships that took place from 7 to 12 February in Dubai. This was Masala’s first international competition.
The main goal was to get Masala, who schools at Champions Christian Academy in Louis Trichardt, internationally classified and to give him the opportunity to represent his country for the first time on the world stage.
After his successful classification in Dubai, Masala went on to secure a silver medal (11.51) for South Africa in the Men’s Open 100m T12 race, bettering his own national record in the process.
The occasion marked a successful international debut from this young man from Limpopo Province who was born in 2006