Team Batman at it again

JUST two years ago a senior accounts manager, Marc Kourie and Rory Whitecross, who is disabled, had never met before. On Sunday they took on their second Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 Durban triathlon together, and they were more motivated than before.

“Let me win, let me be brave. If you can’t win then do it again”, says Whitecross when asked about doing this event again. Kourie (31) and Whitecross (31) know exactly what to expect this time around and are raring to go.

In 2001 a car crash completely paralyzed Kourie’s uncle, Garth Munro, and saw him become a permanent visitor to a local rehabilitation practice. Being an IRONMAN African Championship and two time IROMAN 70.3 Durban finisher, Kourie gained motivation from the American father and son, Rick and Dick Hoyt, to take on the IRONMAN with his paralyzed uncle. Just like Dick did for his quadriplegic son Rick, Kourie wanted to carry his paralyzed uncle through the tri-course by pulling a boat, cycle a tandem bike and push a special running wheelchair through the run course.

Unfortunately, the severity of Munro’s condition just wouldn’t allow for any of Kourie’s IRONMAN dreams to become a reality. That was until Kourie was asked to pull a chariot during the 94.7 city cycle challenge in 2016 where he met Rory.

“I met Rory through the rehab practice my uncle was affiliated to. Justin Jeffrey is head of the practice and he runs the charity called TNT (Trojan Neurological Trust) where he trains and encourages his patients to take part in the 94.7 and then finds cyclists to pull and push the patients on a chariot. Rory was my chariot patient-partner and little did I know we’d become mates. Crossing the finish line with Rory, gave me new hope for the IRONMAN dream,” said Kourie.

Rory’s mother Nancy who plays a massive part in his life, said she has always wanted her son to be the best he can be, especially after everything he has been through. “Rory spent the first two years of his life in Johannesburg General Hospital. Lack of oxygen while in an incubator left him brain damaged. I was told that he would never be able to walk, feed himself or talk and the best thing to do was to find an institution to put him in for others to look after him as I wouldn’t be able to care for him,” said Nancy.

Kourie adds that he thinks the name is fitting, as they will be racing for IRONMAN 4 the Kidz Charity Trust again, an NPO which is currently supporting 19 registered children charities in the South Africa and hopes to inspire others to become superheroes in their own way. Thousands of people throughout the course cheered on team Batman go.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts