Coetzee won the silver medal in the T11 1500m with Estean Badenhorst and the T12 Marathon bronze with Claus Kempen.

Coetzee’s marathon time of 3:11.13 was also a world record in her T11 class, while the 4:40.96 she ran in the 1500m is a new African record.

Badenhorst arrived back on Saturday already, but was also in attendance for her arrival with a handful of family, friends and her guide dog, Oakley.

Coetzee told OFM Sport that she didn’t contemplate calling a time on her career.

“I'm excited to rest a bit and then start training again. Then we will start looking at some local events to enter.

“I am very excited for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. I actually wanted to stop now, but I think that we've only just started.

“But now I'm looking forward to Paris and I think that it's going to be a big highlight for us.”

Kempen, who returned home without a medal due to an administrative error, said that Coetzee deserves all the credit for her exploits during the marathon and he was merely there to keep her company along the route.

“It's wonderful to stand next to an athlete and know that she is in absolute peak condition. All credit to Louzanne and Estean for getting her there.

“She had the speed and the sharpness. So, for me it was basically just to keep her entertained for three hours because she was in peak performance.

“I had the fun run with no pressure and she absolutely surprised me. I'm very fortunate to have had the experience in a city like Tokyo.”

Badenhorst conceded that she was nervous before their T11 1500m race, but a peace and calmness came through just before the race and he was humbled by the experience.

“For me, this was my first major race with her, I haven't done anything like the world champs or the Paralympics, so the nerves were high.

“You didn't necessarily see that, but that was because of this wonderful lady next to me.

“All I had to do was to follow the plan and I knew that she was very capable of following the plan.

“There was a lot of peace before the race. From the nerves to that peace that just came through and doing what we said we are going to do, I'm very humbled and happy to have do it with Louzanne.”

Coetzee’s next goal is 2022 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, which is also Japan.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport