Simoné Kruger continued with her excellent form as she successfully defended her world title in the Women’s F38 Discus at the World Para Athletics Championships, held in New Delhi, India, from 27 September to 5 October 2025.
Kruger was sensational, managing a mammoth throw of 37.39m, which was also a season’s best for the Paralympic star. She went on to claim gold and Team South Africa’s second medal of the event.
“Competing in New Delhi was, I think, one of my hardest competitions, because from the beginning, there were things that I feel didn’t go the way we planned it, and I think that happens with a lot of athletes.”
World Para Athletics Champs F38 Discus Gold Medalist, Simoné Kruger
“My classification was really an important part of my participation, and because they changed my classifications, we had to do it twice,” explains Kruger. “We appealed the classification. So that was a tough time to actually get back to the level I wanted to be at, because classification takes a lot out of your body.”
“Then it was a slow circle, I woke up with sore throat the day before. There were so many things that didn’t go the way we wanted it to, and waking up on the day, getting into the circle, and I had no energy in my legs. So there was a few things that didn’t go the way we wanted it to happen. But at the end of the day, God came through. So if we don’t look at those things that went wrong, I think I had such an amazing experience going to New Delhi.”
She added that she was always expecting a fierce rivalry from Mi Na and Li Yingli, as the Chinese pair are well-known for their domination, and Kruger knew it was never going to be an easy win.
“My toughest competition were the two Chinese athletes, because Mi Na is the world record holder for the 37’s, and Li Yingli was the silver medalist at Paris Paralympics last year. So they were definitely the two I was the most concerned about.”
“Something I learned again is I have to put my trust in God, because without him, there’s nothing I can do. So my saying in life is always, do your best and God will do the rest. In this competition, he came through with that saying.”
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The Stellenbosch University student has solidified her place at the top of her sport, and given her consistent performances, Kruger looks poised to remain at the top of her game for the foreseeable future.
“My next big event is probably the next World Champs. We don’t know where it is yet, we don’t even know if it’s going to happen, because they haven’t announced it, so it’s not a definite and that it’s going to happen. But in between those are other events like nationals, and other competitions.”
Kruger was not the only female medal winner for South Africa, with Sheryl James winning bronze in the T37 400m final, finishing in a time of 1:06:21.
Liezl Gouws participated in the 100m, 200m and 400m T37 track events with a best finish of fifth in the 400m distance, and also took part in the T37 long jump final, where she achieved a season’s best jump of 4.25m for fifth place.
Main Photo Caption: Simoné Kruger continued with her excellent form, defending her world title in the Women’s F38 Discus at the World Para Athletics Championships, held in New Delhi, India, from 27 September to 5 October 2025. Photo: Kenta Harada / Getty Images via World Para Athletics
Photo 2 Caption: The women’s F38 podium (from left) China’s Mi Na for silver, Simoné Kruger with a SB for gold, and China’s Lin Yingli for bronze. Photo: Andries Kruger
Photo 3 Caption: Liezl Gouws participated in the 100m, 200m and 400m T37 track events with a best finish of fifth in the 400m distance. Photo: Andries Kruger
