BANDA Taonele

Malawi

Athletics

Date of Birth: 5 Jun 1996

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Sport Class: T13

Place of birth: NKHOTAKOTA

Birth Country:

Malawi

Place of residence : NKHOTAKOTA

Residence Country:

Malawi

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 400m - T13
	Women's 1500m - T13

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 1500m - T13 Round 1 - Heat 2	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 400m - T13 Round 1 - Heat 1	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
DSQ	1500m - T13	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	DSQ
World Championships
DNS	400m - T13	2019	Dubai, UAE	DNS

Hobbies:

Swimming, reading, watching athletics competitions. (Athlete, 21 Aug 2021)

Occupation:

Athlete

Family:

Son Ernest [2014]

Coach:

Agnes Chikwakwa [national], MAW

Start:

She took up Para athletics in 2012. (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019; sightsavers.exposure.co, 06 Sep 2016)

Reason:

She liked running but was unable to begin the sport due to her visual impairment until 2012 when her home district of Nkhotakota was visited by representatives of the Malawi Paralympic Committee, who were looking for local talent to compete in regional and national championships. "I liked running. I never took part in athletics at school because most of the sports teachers were looking for people without an impairment. They'd say, 'No, you can't do this. You cannot run with this condition.' So I had to hide my passions. After being identified by the local institution, I was selected to participate at the stadium in Blantyre where athletes from 11 districts took part. I ran the 400m and 800m, and came first in both. I was so happy when I was chosen." (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019; sightsavers.exposure.co, 06 Sep 2016)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019)

Training:

She trains 20 hours per week in two sessions per day. (Athlete, 21 Aug 2021)

Memorable:

Achieving the qualification standard to compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019)

Hero:

Kenyan athlete Nelly Nasimiyu Munialo (Athlete, 21 Aug 2021)

Influence:

James Chiutsi [president of Malawi Paralympic Committee]. (Athlete, 21 Aug 2021)

Award:

She was named the 2019 Best Sportswoman with Impairment at the Malawi Sports Awards. (nyasatimes.com, 02 Apr 2020; times.mw, 14 Feb 2020)

She was flag bearer for Malawi at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (myinfo.rio2016.com, 06 Sep 2016)

General Interest

Classification
T13, F13 (IPC, 16 Feb 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019)

Impairment Details
Her vision impairment developed at age six months. (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019)

General
SUPPORT
She has stated that James Chiutsi, the president of the Malawi Paralympic Committee, is the person who inspired her pursue her career in athletics. "He is the one who saw the potential in me and gave me the resources to be an athlete. If it were not for him, I would never even dream of competing at a Paralympic Games." (Malawi National Paralympic Committee, 21 Aug 2021; Athlete, 21 Aug 2021)

TRAINING IN JAPAN
In 2019 she spent two weeks training in Japan as part of her preparations for the 2020 Paralympic Games. (zampirampira.com, 06 Sep 2019)

Milestones

She became the first athlete to represent Malawi at the Paralympic Games when she competed in the T13 1500m at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 16 Oct 2019; bbc.co.uk, 15 Sep 2016)

Legend

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

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos