COETZEE Louzanne

Date of Birth: 18 Apr 1993

Age: 28

Gender: Female

Sport Class: T11

Place of birth: BLOEMFONTEIN

Birth Country:

South Africa

Place of residence : BLOEMFONTEIN

Residence Country:

South Africa

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 1500m - T11	2
	Women's Marathon - T12	3

Records

Record	Event	Mark	Date	Location

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 1500m - T11 Round 1 - Heat 2	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 1500m - T11 Final	Finished
	Olympic Stadium	Women's Marathon - T12	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
DSQ	1500m - T11	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	DSQ
World Championships
4	1500m - T11	2017	London, GBR	4:52.67
5	1500m - T11	2019	Dubai, UAE	5:01.03
6	Women's 800m T11	2017	London, GBR	2:27.65
7	Women's 800m T11	2015	Doha, QAT	2:42.49
7	Women's 800m T11	2013	Lyon, FRA	2:50.42
8	1500m - T11	2015	Doha, QAT	5:29.26

The Rose of Bloemfontein, Miss Lou (thesouthafrican.com, 02 Jul 2018; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Cooking, baking, reading, watching films and television series, singing, shopping, doing art, walking, spending time in nature. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; worldkings.org, 14 Sep 2020; tifosisports.co.za, 09 Feb 2021)

Occupation:

Athlete, University Staff

Advertising, Communications, Marketing - University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, RSA

Languages spoken:

Afrikaans, English

University of the Free State Kovsies [Bloemfontein, RSA]

Girda Siebert [personal]

2013 for South Africa, World Championships in Lyon, France (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

In 2019 she sustained an iliotibial band syndrome injury [ITB] to her knee and needed two months to recover. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

In 2018 she was out of action for two months with a plantar fasciitis injury. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

She took up the sport at age 19 during her first year at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019, 16 Jul 2017)

"I was motivated by friends and family, who recognised potential in me." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, and to set a world record in the T11 marathon. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; News24 YouTube channel, 08 Aug 2018; sportinafrica.org, 02 Aug 2020)

Setting a world record in the T11 5000m at the 2018 Grand Prix in Berlin, Germany. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; thesouthafrican.com, 02 Jul 2018)

South African distance runner Zola Budd. (Athlete, 22 Oct 2015)

Coach Rufus Botha. (Athlete, 16 Jul 2017)

Philosophy:

"Success is not possible without the support of others and hard work." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

She was named Sports Star of the Year [from June 2018 to April 2019] by the Free State Sports Association for the Physically Disabled. (worldkings.org, 14 Sep 2020)

In 2018 she received the Free State Sports Star Award. (worldkings.org, 14 Sep 2020)

In 2017 she and her guide Khothatso Mokone received a Special Award for Disabled Sport at the KovsieSport Awards. (worldkings.org, 14 Sep 2020)

She was named the 2014 Senior Sportswoman of the Year by the Free State Sport Association for the Physically Disabled in South Africa. (bloemfonteincourant.co.za, 30 Jul 2014)

General Interest

Classification
T11, F11 (IPC, 24 Feb 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Impairment Details
She was born with Leber's congenital amaurosis, an inherited eye condition. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Guide
Xavier Adams (iol.co.za, 03 Jan 2020)

General
OCCUPATION
She works as residence head at the University of Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. She previously worked as a research assistant at the university between January 2015 and August 2018. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2021)

RIO DISQUALIFICATION
She was disqualified after finishing the T11 1500m heat at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Her guide Khothatso Mokone passed in front of her while overtaking another athlete and was deemed by officials to have provided illegal assistance. "Khothatso turned his shoulder towards me when he was speaking to me and from the video on the referees' side, it looked like he was pulling me. Nobody wanted to appeal and help me appeal. If I had gone and appealed confidently, we could've won the appeal. So I've learnt that if you believe in something, go for it. I won't let that happen to me ever again. It wasn't a great place to learn that at, but I'm glad I gained that experience. I think if I didn't run that race and get disqualified, I wouldn't have gained the experience I got." (enca.com, 18 Mar 2017; dumelangnews.co.za, 03 Oct 2016; news24.com, 23 Sep 2016)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She has a master's degree in social cohesion and reconciliation studies from the University of Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Social Media

Legend

:: Silver Medal
:: Bronze Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos