Mozambique at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Mozambique sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the country's second time competing at a Summer Paralympic Games after making its debut at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Mozambique was represented by one athlete, Edmilisa Governo, a short-distance sprinter. She competed in two events, the women's 100 metres T12 competition and the women's 400 metres T12. Governo reached the semi-finals of the women's 100 metres T12 and took Mozambique's first Paralympic Games medal in the women's 400 metres T12 by placing third in the final of the competition.

Mozambique at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
IPC code	MOZ
NPC	Paralympic Committee Mozambique
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	1 in 1 sports
Flag bearer	Edmilsa Governo
Medals Ranked 76th	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 1 Total 1
Summer Paralympics appearances
2012 2016 2020

Background

Mozambique made its second Paralympic Games appearance in Rio de Janeiro, with their Paralympic debut occurring four years prior at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.[1] In contrast, Mozambique has been competing at the Olympic Games since the 1980 Summer Olympics.[2] The 2016 Summer Paralympics were held from 7–18 September 2016 with a total of 4,328 athletes representing 159 National Paralympic Committees taking part.[3] Mozambique sent one athlete to the Rio Paralympics, in athletics, Edmilsa Governo, a short-distance sprinter.[4] She travelled with her coach Narciso Faquir to Rio de Janeiro on 1 September.[4] Governo was chosen as the flag bearer during the parade of nations for the opening ceremony.[5]

Disability classifications

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.[6][7] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.[8]

Medallists

Mozambique finished tied for twelfth among African countries for total gold medals and seventy-sixth overall, winning one bronze. Cape Verde also won a single bronze medal.[9]

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Bronze	Edmilsa Governo (Guide – Filipe Chaimite)	Athletics	Women's 400 m T12	17 September[10]

Athletics

Edmlisa Governo was 18 years old at the time of the Rio Summer Paralympics and she was making her Paralympic debut.[11] Her disability is congenital; she was born with a visual impairment that has rendered her unable to see farther than 50 m (160 ft).[12] Governo is classified by the International Paralympic Committee as T12.[13] She earned automatic qualification to the Games through her performance at the Tunisian International Meeting in March 2016, where she won two gold medals.[13][14] This made Governo the first athlete from Mozambique to qualify for the Paralympics through standard qualifying procedures.[13] She received sponsorship to make the Games,[11] and immediately began training after her qualification was guaranteed.[14] She told Radio France Internationale in June 2016 about her participation in Rio de Janeiro, "I'm going to win. I'll stop there, call my name and dictate the mark (Laughter). I can already imagine myself on track 2 or on track 7, what will it be like if I am on track 7, if I am on track 4, on track 3. I begin to imagine when I reach the finish line. I can already imagine it on the podium. I even dream of the Games."[14]

On 7 September, Governo competed in the women's 100 metres T12 competition with her guide Filipe Chaimite.[15] Assigned to heat three, she finished third and last of all athletes with a new African record time of 12.65 seconds.[15][16] Despite this result, Governo's time was fast enough to advance her to the semi-finals. She was placed in the second heat at that stage, finishing third out of four sprinters, with an improved time of 12.35 seconds.[15] Governo was fifth out of eight finishers overall and did not progress to the final since only the top four athletes were permitted to advance.[n 1][15] She participated with Chaimite in the heats of the women's 400 metres T12 on 15 September. Governo finished second out of four athletes in heat three and her time of 54.94 seconds was fast enough to advance her to the final.[17][18] In the final on 17 September, she finished third out of four sprinters with a time of 53.89 seconds, earning her a bronze medal and Mozambique's first medal at the Paralympic Games.[n 2][10]

Women's Track

Athlete	Events	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Edmilsa Governo (Guide – Filipe Chaimite)	100 m T12	12.65	3 Q	12.35	3	Did not advance[15]
	400 m T12	54.94	2 Q[18]	N/A		53.89	[10]

See also

• Mozambique at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Notes

1. One athlete, Oxana Boturchuk, was disqualified, and another, Rose Welepa, did not start.[15]
2. One sprinter, Yaqin Shen, was disqualified.[18]

References

1. "Mozambique at the Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
2. "Mozambique". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
3. "Rio 2016". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
4. "Edmilsa Governo partiu para os Jogos Paralímpicos". A Bola (in Portuguese). 2 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
5. "Full list of flag bearers for opening ceremony of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Paralympic News Service. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
6. McGarry, Andrew (3 September 2008). "Paralympics categories explained". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
7. "Making sense of the categories". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
8. "A-Z of Paralympic classification". BBC Sport. 28 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
9. "Nigeria are Africa's best at Paralympics". Kwese Sports. 19 September 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
10. Injoma, Algy (18 September 2016). "Edmilsa Governo Bate Recorde E Conquista Bronze No Paralímpicos-Rio 2016". Chaoneka (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
11. "Odebrecht apoia Edmilsa Governo". Jornal Domingo (in Portuguese). 6 August 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
12. Sitoe, Duarte (30 October 2014). "Edmilsa Governo: a menina de ouro do atletismo paralímpico". Verdade (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
13. "Edmilsa Governo qualifica-se para Jogos Paralímpicos de Rio de Janeiro". O País (in Portuguese). 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
14. Belém, Fábia (19 June 2016). "Maior atleta de Moçambique sonha com Paralímpiadas do Rio" (in Portuguese). Radio France Internationale. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
15. "Athletics at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games – Women's 100 m T12". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
16. Caldiera, Adérito (12 September 2016). "Edmilsa falha final dos Jogos Paraolímpicos mas estabelece novo recorde africano dos 100 metros rasos". Verdade (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
17. "Edmilsa Governo na final dos 400 metros" (in Portuguese). VIVA!. 16 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
18. "Athletics at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games – Women's 400 m T12". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.