WATCH: Jean Spies reacts emotionally after recording his personal best at Tokyo Olympics

Jean Spies has shared an emotional video with Randburg Sun after he recorded a personal best time in his track cycling sprint event at the Tokyo Olympics on August 4.

Spies finished 27th in a time of 9.787 seconds, at an average speed of 73.567 km/h, this just three slots short of qualifying for the next round.

The Fontainebleau resident will still, however, compete in the keirin event on the morning of August 7.

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“That was something special. I have been chasing a PB [personal best] for the last two years and I finally got it by point four,” he said in the video as he came close to crying.

“It feels so good, so good. Thanks so much to those that have come out to support us from Sascoc and the guys from the Olympic village. It means so much for you guys to be here. It is so flipping special to be here, to race in front of you guys. Thank you so much.”

Spies’ journey to the Tokyo Olympics started as a crowd-funded trip to the African Continental Track Championships in Morocco in 2016.

There, he was crowned African track champion and went on to compete at the World Track Championships in London the following year.

“This was the one moment where I had to decide if I wanted to do this, or if I wanted to become an average Joe with a nine to five job,” he told Randburg Sun before the Olympics.

“If I wanted to see how far I could push the unfamiliar, I knew I would have to get uncomfortable and change everything I knew and did for the better.”

The goal-driven cyclist set out to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, despite having to self-fund and ask for financial assistance from the community to get there.

Between 2016 and 2018 he travelled the world, asked questions, and figured out how to make his dream happen.

When the qualifying process started, Spies had to rank in the top 36 track cyclists in the world to first race in the World Cup series.

This featured six races around the world per year, separate from the Continental Championships and World Championships he also had to go to.

Spies had to sleep in odd locations to make this work.

“I have lived in horse barns where I’m literally in a stable between horses… A caravan on some remote farm, in an attic and my all-time favourite place has been under the grandstands of the track that I will be competing at,” he added.

“Now just imagine living in those places where there is no running water or a toilet at your convenience, it becomes a pain when you must walk 300–400m in the snow or pouring rain to answer nature’s call. The upside to living like this has been, for the most part, the people who own these places have allowed me to live there for free while I am preparing for my next event.”