MULTI-SPORTS
Words: Mike Roscoe, SBR Sport ǀ Photos: Chris Hitchcock
Mike Roscoe gives Piet a slight push to help get his front wheel over the bump at the finishing line.
Racing SupaPiet with
Pieter du Preez’s story needs to be told. Ten years ago while riding his bike, a motorist knocked him over, and in the accident he broke, amongst other things, his neck. He is a C6 quadriplegic and paralysed from his nipples down. This implies that he can use his biceps, shoulder muscles, and pectoris minor, but not the pectoris major muscles.
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Piet totally focussed on the task at hand getting to the finishing line of the TriRock Durban trialthon event, held in September.
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I always take strain typing the word ‘paralysed’ in relation to Piet.
The reason for this is that he made history recently as the first C6 quadriplegic to complete a half Ironman. Very few able-bodied people on the planet have ever managed to swim, bike, and run for over 113 km. With just 15% of muscles that do work and a
mind that refuses to be trapped into any constraint, Piet, as a person, is not paralysed.
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A few weeks prior to the TriRock Durban triathlon, in September, Piet’s wife, Illse, asked me if I would be happy to join Piet and help him out at this event. This was TriRock’s first 70.3 distance triathlon in Durban and Pieter had been invited to compete. I would help him with the swim and then do the ride, and he would go on to do the ‘run’. I jumped at the opportunity.
The major challenge was the swim. Piet has developed a double-arm back stroke. That means that he cannot see where he is swimming. Also, without trunk and leg strength he is unable to get into and out of the water. Even more disturbingly, he runs the risk of serious injury when having to cope with the waves, as he goes out and comes back in from the sea. The night before the swim, Piet explained to me that his back muscles were completely atrophied, and that his back could snap if a wave hit him incorrectly. Needless to say I did not sleep well the night before the triathlon. He had not swum through proper waves since his accident.
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On the Sunday morning, we made our way to the start of the tri. Illse and I needed to get him out of his wheelchair, carry him down the stairs at the beach, and then sit him down on the sand. The plan was as follows, with gently rolling waves I would lift him up so that he could float over them. With more aggressive waves, I would tap him twice on the chest as a warning of impending doom. His job then was to take a deep breath and I would push him under the water, where
Piet is all smiles before he takes to the water, the first leg of TriRock Durban.
his body would experience less twisting force. At 7:20 a.m. we entered the water to start our crazy quest. I can’t remember how many waves broke over us, but after a period of time we were beyond the breakers. It was now up to Piet to do his 1.9 km swim under his own strength. My job was to swim breast stroke behind him and make sure that we swam in a straight line from buoy to buoy. On the back straight, I noticed a few of the lifeguards came along side us. By this time, most
of the swimmers were out of the ocean. I explained to them that they were watching a quadriplegic swim. Piet had a group of admirers around him, me included. The last section of the swim was a straight line back to the beach. The lifeguards, who were perched on the boards, formed a corridor on either side of us and honoured Piet by shouting and clapping for him. My goggles filled with water at that point. (As a manly man, I could only conclude that they must have sprung a leak.) The plan to get him safely back through the breakers meant I would turn him around so he faced the beach feet first.
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Once again, I would check behind to see what type of wave was coming up behind us. Kind waves meant that I would lift his body so that he could crest them, and angry, breaking waves meant a double tap on the chest and then a firm dunk. For the last bit, Illse came running into the sea to help me get him out the water and carry him back to the promenade.
It was now my turn to hop onto the bike and complete the 90 km ride. I was one of the last people to get onto a bike and make my exit out of Durban and ride to Ballito and back. It was a great ride and made all the better with total road closure. At the end of my ride, Piet got onto the run course with his three-wheeler upright wheelchair. He faced a number of challenges on the chair. First, the chair is wide and difficult to steer, so he had to be careful not to hit other runners when going downhill. He has no use of his triceps, so he can only pull upwards on the wheel and is unable to flick the wheel forward, as you would if you had use of your triceps. There is a spot on the run course where it kicks up steeply. Watching Piet tackle the hill was just amazing. The hill was conquered by sheer guts and determination. Illse and I were asked to join Piet on the finishing shoot, where we had the privilege of crossing the line together. We finished in just over five-and-a-half hours. I will never forget that moment.
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Some observations
• Piet’s wife, Illse, is as brave as her husband. My respect for her is immense. She serves Piet selflessly. It has been said that behind every great man is a great woman. Illse fits this description perfectly. • I wish the TriRock organisers all the best for the future. The tri in Durban was a huge success. Two announcers were used and they brought the whole tri to life. I remember hearing them cheer Piet and myself on as we swam along the back straight of the ocean course. They also made a huge fuss of every finisher. Podium winners, as well as ordinary athletes were made to feel like absolute champions. • Our minds can create powerful shackles. Most of life’s tests are passable, as long as we do not let our minds tell us otherwise. Don’t let the word 'impossible' enter your vocabulary. • We must celebrate both the first and last athlete in all events. No one knows what each person has had to overcome, and we are in this thing called life together.
Piet powers along in the final stage of the triathlon.
Piet's next conquest and dream was participating in the Ironman Busselton. Unfortunately LAST Sunday, while training in the Cradle, a cyclist did a U-turn in front of Piet without looking, and PIET ended up breaking his arm. He was operated on Sunday and discharged on Monday. As a result of the accident, Piet's Ironman dream has been postponed for now. • For more information, contact Mike Roscoe, owner of SBR Sport, on roscoe@mailbox.co.za or follow www.twitter.com/swimbikerunshop. You can also follow Pieter on Twitter – www.twitter.com/supapiet.
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