![\"ccs-62657-0-06969200-1462962807.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-06969200-1462962807.jpg\")
<\/a>Du Preez at a paracycling World Cup event at Yverdonne les Baines in Switzerland last year. Photo: Supplied<\/span><\/p>\nThe University of Johannesburg alumnus and actuarial analyst at Deloitte said it was an incredible experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a real blessed last couple of years with lots of hard work involved. To represent my country at the awards was really special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Du Preez said he was often seen as an inspiration by his peers, but to be recognised on the world stage was a huge honour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I received the nomination, my friends and family were ecstatic \u2013 especially my wife. I had incredible support from the whole country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only quadriplegic in history to have completed an Ironman triathlon won gold medals in the time-trial and road races in the H1 Class at the Para-Cycling world road championships in Switzerland last August.<\/p>\n
Now a veteran of three Ironman events, the Randburg resident said it was a \u201cjourney every time\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the level of function I have, it still surprises most people that I can do it. It\u2019s very special to be the first to do something as it can never be taken away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Du Preez\u2019s life changed when he was involved in a cycling accident during his honours year at UJ.<\/p>\n
\u201cA car hit me and left me a C6 quadriplegic, which means I can only move my wrists, biceps, neck and shoulders. UJ were incredibly supportive and still are.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has not let anything get in the way of his success and planned to raise the bar even higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have achieved a lot, but there is always more. Getting to Rio is on my list \u2013 as is medalling there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The marathon world record, some track world records and a sub 12-hour Ironman were other big goals, he said.<\/p>\n
The Wings for Life World Run ambassador said he trained anything from two to five hours per day and seven days a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt depends on what event is up next. For the Ironman, it has gone up to 35 hours a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest and most important part is recovering,\u201d said Du Preez, who works three-quarter days.<\/p>\n
When it comes to motivation, he said he focused on inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have the power to inspire. A simple smile at the supermarket or telling someone \u2018good job\u2019 at work can change that person\u2019s day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI inspire, sure, but my supporters telling me how I\u2019m inspiring motivates me more than I think I do them,\u201d said Du Preez.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember, when a bad thing happens, it\u2019s an opportunity to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Para-athlete Pieter Du Preez rubbed shoulders with the best in the sporting business when he attended the 17th Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin last month. The 36-year-old, who was the only South African among the six nominees in his category, joined the likes of Usain Bolt and Lionel Messi at the awards function, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":42755,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1725,2779],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-18195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-para","tag-pieter-du-preez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18195"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=18195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}