The death of six-time Paralympic athlete Zanele Situ was confirmed on Wednesday. The star field athlete was the first black South African to win a Paralympic gold medal.

Star South African Paralympic athlete Ntombizanele "Zanele" Situ has died, aged 52.

Situ became the first black South African female athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal, at Sydney in 2000.

At the Games, she was handed the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, one of only two South Africans to be bestowed the honour, with Natalie du Toit receiving it in 2008.

Three years later she was recognised for her achievements when the Presidency awarded her the Order of Ikhamanga (silver) for her outstanding contributions to sport.

Sixteen years after winning her first medal at a Paralympic Games, the Maties athlete did it again, winning bronze in the javelin (F54) at the Paralympics in Rio.

Between Sydney 2000 and Rio 2016, her career had ebbed and flowed.

At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, she was unable to win a medal, but the six-time Paralympian came back in 2011 to earn a bronze medal at the World Championships.

"The news that Zanele has passed on is heartbreaking," said Leon Fleiser, the general manager of high performance at South Africa's Olympic body, Sascoc. "We have lost a true icon of not only South African sport, but the Paralympic world has lost a legend....