5km/20km/2.5km – run/cycle/run

I decided to enter the Para Duathlon sprint on Sunday. It’s a category specially for people with disabilities. There were only three of us: One guy who was much younger than me had no arms while the other guy who only had one leg was much older. I believe that they had previously competed outside South Africa. On their tri-suites it clearly read ‘RSA’ and it had our country’s flag on it. They also knew each other quite well.

Waiting for the countdown, I realised that these two gentlemen were in a league of their own. There was nothing wrong with the legs of the guy with no arms. I could tell that he could outrun many of the athletes of the present day. The other guy was confident in his blade. Apart from that, I could see the incredible strength in his body.
They outran me within couple of seconds. I only saw the one without arms on my first cycling lap. Even on his bike, nothing held him back! He was steering and balancing the bike better than I could!

It’s ironic: three guys, one with no arms, one with only one leg and one with both arms and legs. One would think that the person with only a limp would have a head start, but our disabilities were completely different. Yet, we all stayed in the race and finished it.