Pieter du Preez

Nicolas Pieter du Preez (born 1979 or 1980) is a South African athlete in paratriathlon. He was the first person with tetraplegia to ever finish an Ironman Triathlon in 2014. Du Preez started competing at the Berlin Marathon in 2008 and was a seven-time winner since 2012. In international events, Du Preez competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the 100m event and won medals at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships from 2014 to 2018. Outside of his athletic career, Du Preez works in risk assessment as an analyst.

Pieter du Preez
Personal information
Birth nameNicolas Pieter du Preez
Nickname(s)Supa Piet
Born1979 or 1980 (age 40–41)
Randburg, South Africa
Sport
CountrySouth Africa
SportParatriathlon
Disability classT51, H1

Early life and education

Du Preez spent his childhood in Randburg, South Africa. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science at the University of Johannesburg and completed an honours degree specializing in investment management.[1]

Career

During his childhood, Du Preez competed in running, cycling and triathlon. In 2003, he was paralyzed from the chest down after a traffic accident. du Preez returned to sports in 2005 by competing in wheelchair rugby. He resumed his running career when he ran at the 2008 Berlin Marathon in the T51 event.[1][2] At Berlin, du Preez won his first title in 2012 and retained back to back titles from 2012 to 2018.[3][4]

In other athletic events, du Preez won a silver in the 200m and a bronze in the 100m at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships.[5] The following year, du Preez came in 6th place during the Men's 100 metres T51 event at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[6] After his Paralympic performance, du Preez broke the 10,000 m world record for wheelchair racing in 2015.[7] That same year, he also set new African athletic records in 200 m, 1500 m, and 10,000 m.[8]

In cycling, du Preez won multiple gold and silver medals at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships. His first medals were in 2014 where he was second in time trial and won the road race event. The following year, du Preez won both the time trial and road race events in 2015.[5] In 2017, Du Preez won gold in time trial and silver in road race.[9] In 2018, he won a silver medal in the road race and time trial events.[10]

During his triathlon career, du Preez was the first person with tetraplegia to ever complete an Ironman Triathlon in 2013.[11] In 2018, he participated at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.[12] Outside of athletics, du Preez is a risk assessment analyst.[13]

Awards and honors

In 2016, du Preez was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.[14]

References
  1. "SupaPiet: Making the Impossible Possible!". Modern Athlete. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  2. "Du Preez wins a fourth title at Berlin Marathon". South African Sports Confederation & Olympic Committee. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  3. "Two medals for Supapiet at Italian UCI World Champs". Cycling South Africa. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. Vivier, Tyler Leigh (21 September 2018). "South African wins 7th International para-cycle race in a row, inspiring all!". Good Things Guy. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  5. "DU PREEZ Pieter". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  6. "Du Preez sixth in T51 final". sport24. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  7. "Disability gives para-cyclist Pieter du Preez the ability to inspire". in the Bunch. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  8. Haden, Alexis (2 March 2016). "South Africa's Pieter du Preez nominated for prestigious Laureus award". The South African. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  9. "Redemption for Du Preez as he wins para-cycling road world title". In the Bunch. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  10. "Pieter du Preez picked up two silver medals at Para-cycling World Champs". Into Cycling. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  11. Lulham, Amanda (9 December 2013). "Pieter Du Preez, first quadriplegic to finish ironman, wants to compete in ironman triathlon". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  12. Mphande, Hendrick (4 September 2018). "Quadriplegic Ironman shows his steel". Herald Live. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  13. "Pieter du Preez claims triathlon world first". Go Multi. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. "LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR 2016 WITH A DISABILITY - NOMINEES". Laureus. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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