South African quadriplegic athlete wins his sixth consecutive Oita International Wheelchair Marathon
The Sunninghill resident said there was a moment he thought he wasn’t going to make it after one of the racers crashed into him from behind.
A South African athlete and resident of Sunninghill, Pieter du Preez has once again put the country on the map after winning his sixth consecutive Oita International Wheelchair Marathon.
The South African quadriplegic athlete and 2020 Paralympic gold medal winner won this year’s race in 2:22.33 in the T51 category in Japan on November 20.
Du Preez broke a 27-year T51 marathon world record that was held by Germany’s Heinrich Koberle with a time of 2:23:08.
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“I’ve been chasing this world record since I started racing and this is a dream becoming a reality for me after I won a gold medal at the Paralympics last year. This was my 20th marathon chasing and trying to break this long-standing world record. This was indeed a special moment for me as an athlete.”
He said there was a moment he thought he wasn’t going to make it after one of the racers crashed into him from behind.
“I lost minutes when one of the racers crashed into me from behind. When I was six kilometres away before I hit the finishing line, I realised that I was going to break this world record and today all that is history.”
Du Preez thanked his wife and team ‘Supa Piet’ for their support which kept him going for the past 12 years chasing his dream to break Heinrich Koberle’s 27-year-old world record.
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