Paris 2024: Pieter Du Preez inspired by battle to the top

When South African Para cyclist Pieter Du Preez won the road Time Trial H1 gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games it was not completely unexpected, considering that he was the world No.2 and had been a semi-professional triathlete for a big part of his life.  

However, considering he was told after a traffic accident in 2003 that he would never be able to dress himself again, it was a far bigger achievement. 

"In rehab, I was told I'd never be independent, I'd never be able to dress myself and so on. Somehow, I just didn't believe that," said Du Preez, who broke his neck and lost all function in his hand and fingers after being hit by a car while cycling.  

"I thought, I'll figure it out. I work as an actuarial analyst and it's all about finding solutions to problems. At rehab I started to figure out every part of getting dressed without any tools or finger function.” 

He timed himself as he managed to put his clothes on. The first time it took just under an hour and he was "dead tired". He started training to cut that time down, setting a target of 15 minutes. 

"About a month later I did it," he said. Two months later he had smashed his new goal of seven minutes. 

"Because I saw myself getting faster, it motivated me and I started timing everything I did and figured out how to get it out of the car, the chair getting out of the car, from the room to the eating, in and out of the bath – everything," he said. 

Pushing the boundaries 

The 44-year-old athlete credits his sporting background for his drive to keep getting better. He had been dreaming about the Olympic Games since he was six, starting as a runner before becoming a triathlete. 

"Sport gave me that mindset of keeping on trying and pushing the boundaries. I see a barrier of impossibility as something I want to get smashed," he said. 

"Learning how to get dressed changed my life, making it possible to still live a quality life. It's all because of sport." 

In rehab he met Ilse, who went on to become his wife and a driving force for his recovery. She introduced him to wheelchair rugby, which he picked up after a month. Within a year he had worked out a way to train all triathlon elements and aimed for an ironman, consisting of a 3.9km swim, a 180.2km bicycle ride and a 42.2km marathon. 

"I figured the sooner I get stronger, the easier I will be able to get dressed fast," Du Preez said. 

In 2013, he became the first person with tetraplegia to complete an ironman, but before that he had already achieved plenty in Para sport. 

He participated in the Berlin Marathon in 2008, won 200m silver and 100m bronze at the 2011 Para Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand and made his Paralympic Games debut at London 2012 where he finished sixth in the 100m T51 event. 

Imagen

"I finally made it to a Games, which was a childhood dream. It was an absolute milestone and amazing," he said. 

But it was the 2014 Para-Cycling Road World Championships in Greenville, United States, that was his biggest breakthrough. That was when his H1 category first was introduced – 10 years after he got his first Para cycling bike.  

Du Preez won gold in the road race – the first of 15 world championship medals, including six titles. 

"The triathlons had been for myself and the sprints – even though I finished sixth at the Paralympics – weren't my thing. This was the first time that I had done something for my country where I felt 'this is me'," he said. 

"I had worked for this for 10 years so to get that rainbow jersey was special. I don't cry for many things. I cried when I did my first ironman and I cried when I got that jersey." 

Injury fails to derail the dream 

The next time he cried was seven years later, at Tokyo 2020, when he won his first Paralympic gold medal.  

But it was not a straight path to glory for the champion, who beat silver medallist Fabrizio Cornegliani by almost two minutes. One year before the Games, he fell in the parking lot when picking up his son from pre-school. 

"I broke my shoulder, completely dislocated my AC joint and snapped the coracoid process off the scapular," he said. 

"It was not just a sporting career-threatening injury, it was threatening my independence. I had a plate in there for six months, it was only taken out in the middle of February in 2021." 

Four months later he won the road race at the World Championships in Cascais, Portugal, beating Cornegliani for the first time since 2017. 

Imagen

"That was incredibly special as well," he said. "I think I really needed that for the extra confidence." 

In the time trial he finished more than a minute behind the Italian, but he was still positive. 

"I felt that I was probably the best in the world at climbing hills, and I knew that Tokyo was a really tough course. That made me believe that I could possibly take him on," Du Preez said. 

"When life makes it more impossible, I'm almost even better. So about a week after I broke my shoulder I told my wife that 'this is probably God telling me that the gold medal in Tokyo is mine'. And despite the pain and doubt of whether I'd be able to live a normal daily life again, I never stopped believing that. And everything panned out beautifully." 

Tears of joy 

His favourite memory from Tokyo was when Finland's manager came to congratulate him with tears in his eyes. 

"That was the most beautiful moment for me at a sporting event so far. Getting a medal was really special but when someone from another country has tears of happiness for you, you realise this thing is bigger than me."

This year, Du Preez wants to do it again, at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. He hopes to compete in the cycling as well as in the athletics 100m. 

"I feel I've shown I can juggle the two and would love to compete in both so that's definitely the plan. I'm just waiting to see if my ranking will be high enough to get a slot at the tracks," he said. 

That it is in the country of Tour de France makes it extra special for Du Preez, whose family – unlike in Tokyo – will be in the crowds. 

Imagen

"I firmly believe it's going to be one of the most attended Games, so I'm super excited from so many fronts," he said. 

"I want to make this a spectacular Games. You should make every day in your life impactful but I want to make this a special one." 

Book your tickets for the Paralympic Games by visiting the Paris 2024 ticketing website.