Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 58

MULTISPORT
David and guide hit the water
at the Slangoek Triathlon
Para-triathlete
David and regular
guide Rohan Kennedy
It’s been one hell of a year for blind triathlete David Jones, in terms of travelling
for events. The 41-year-old Cape Town-based computer programmer has
competed in Japan, Mauritius, Canada and Switzerland, on top of local events in
various venues across South Africa, and racked up some impressive results along
the way. – BY SEAN FALCONER
T
here are quite a few new stamps in David
Jones’ passport after this year’s triathlon racing
season, and his tandem bike has spent a lot
of time in a bike box on long-haul flights. “This year
has been crazy,” he says laughingly. “It started with
the Ironman 70.3 in East London, which is the longest
event I have done thus far – I actually just did it to
motivate myself to keep my training going in the off-
season. After that I did the Discovery Sprint in Cape
Town, followed that with the Cape Town Cycle Tour,
then it was SA Tri Champs in Durban, where I won a
slot for the World Series event in Yokohama, Japan in
May. Getting into World Series events is never easy,
so I was very pleased with that!”
The Discovery Tri also delivered one of those
moments David says you simply have to laugh at
when you’re a blind athlete. “There’s no para-tri
category at the event, so I raced with the able-bodied
58
athletes, and running into transition off the bike, I
was holding on to the saddle of our tandem while my
guide on the day, Rohan Kennedy, steered us towards
our racking point. Somehow, a girl managed to run
between us, and I had to let go of the saddle to avoid
falling, but Rohan didn’t realise I was missing until
he stopped running to rack the bike. By then I was
30 metres away, being led back to him by the girl,
because I had told her, well, you’ll just have to help
me find my spot now!”
Frequent Flyer
After a great trip to Japan, next up was African
Champs in Mauritius in June, where David won his
fourth consecutive continental title in his B1 category.
Then in July, having raced the SA Duathlon Champs,
he headed to Canada for a World Cup event later that
same month, where things unfortunately didn’t quite
go to plan. “We didn’t do too well, had a bit of a crash
ISSUE 124 OCTOBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
And still there was more travelling, as September
saw David heading to Lausanne, Switzerland for the
World Tri Champs. “Again, we didn’t do all that well,
and I’m not sure why, but the bike leg just didn’t go
too well. We were fifth out the water, but then lost 10
positions on the bike and finished 15th. It was a bit of
a challenging course, quite hilly, but we just couldn’t
respond on the day as other riders came past us. So,
I’ve come back and I’m working on things that didn’t
go right there.
Currently enjoying a short break from racing after a
busy season of travelling the world, David says his
racing will start again early in the new year, so he
is keeping up with his training now. “Next year the
calendar is quite compact. My first planned race is in
February, a World Series race in Devonport, Australia.
The Olympic qualifying period ends on 28 June, so I
have several races planned until then and I’m hoping
to have earned enough Olympic ranking points to
qualify for the Para-Olympics in August. That’s my big
goal for 2020, to get to Tokyo for the Games, and I will
be using all my guides in this period. We’ve already
discussed it and they’ll be working as team, as it
requires a lot of commitment, and I can‘t expect one
guy to do all of that for me.”
Deteriorating Eyesight
Born in Durban, David initially had no problems with
his eyesight when young, but later was diagnosed
with Retinitis Pigmentosa, an incurable degenerative
condition that slowly causes loss of vision. “Up until
20 I could still see pretty well, but then lost the ability
to read print at about 22, and by the time I was 27
I could no longer read computers, so started using
screen readers, which convert text to speech and give
me audio feedback. I also began using a white cane
for mobility. Today all I have left of my vision is light
perception, no usable vision,” says David.
After school, he began studying computer science
through UNISA, but the loss of his vision forced him
to drop out midway. “It was a bit tricky, because I
couldn’t read any more, so couldn’t complete my
Jones &
Globetrotting
on the bike. We still finished, but not in a great time.
That’s all part of the experience, I suppose,” he says
philosophically.