Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 123, October 2019 | Page 59

MULTISPORT Guided by Conrad Stoltz in the Discovery Tri in Cape Town Racing with Rohan in Yokohama, Japan degree. Back then I wasn’t aware of the technology available that could help me, but I still got into computer programming, and I’m still doing that today, writing programmes for software packages. I do sometimes run into problems, when the screen reader can’t read things to give me feedback, but generally it works for me.” David lives near to work and can walk the short distance each day with his cane, but going any further does pose some challenges that he has learnt to deal with. “To get around, I use all forms of transport, including the train and minibuses, but thankfully the Uber-type ride services have made travelling a lot easier. Before that, taking trains was much harder, because I first had to go into the city, then catch my train in a crowd, and then count stops, since they don’t announce stations here. I usually have to ask fellow passengers, just to make sure, because sometimes trains stop between stations, too, and then I get off at the wrong stop!” Going for a Run In terms of sporting background, David says his deteriorating eyesight put paid to most sporting aspirations during his school days. “I couldn’t really catch a ball, so I didn’t play much sport. I just ran occasionally.” But that all changed when he moved to Cape Town in 2010 and met Kenny Vine, a former runner. “One day he asked me if I wanted to go for a run, so we met up at the Constantia Cricket Ground and learnt to run together by doing loops of the field, holding a tether string between us. From there we moved out on to road as well as running in the Constantia Green Belt, doing up to 5km, then worked up to 10km. Soon we were running half marathons together, including the big one in Knysna, and I joined the Wildrunner club.” 38km when I started cramping, but I finished in four hours 24 minutes.” David says the original plan was to work up to the Two Oceans and Comrades ultras, but then his sporting plans went down a different road when he got involved in triathlon, so that Cape Town run remains the only marathon he has completed. “In 2013 I went to Durban to do the Midmar Mile, swimming with a guide, and the following year I did the Midmar 8 Mile Challenge, then did that again in 2015. In 2014 I also started cycling, with SA Tandem Cycling for the Blind, who found me a pilot to ride the Cape Town Cycle Tour with, and I have ridden the Cycle Tour each year since. Then in 2015 friends asked why don’t I try a triathlon, so the Multisport Maniacs club took me for my first brick run, and one of the guys said he would take me through the sprint distance of the Discovery Triathlon here in Cape Town.” Having successfully completed his first few triathlons, David was encouraged to go do the 2016 SA Champs race in East London, and later that year he went back to East London for a World Cup event, where he raced against 60 of the top para-triathletes from around the world. He was also selected to go Egypt for the African Champs, and won his category. “I have now been African Champ four consecutive times since 2016, and I’ve also finished second and third in World Cup events in France and here in SA. It’s been great to get into world events, but the competition is much stronger.” Guiding Hands More success followed as David was selected for the South African team to go to the World Champs in 2017, and this year’s trip to Switzerland was his second World Champs outing in national colours. But here David changes tack from talking about his travelling and racing experiences, to talk about his guides. It goes without saying that one of the most important aspects of his participation in sport is the assistance and support his various pilots provide, and David is quick to acknowledge the tremendous help he receives from all his guides. “I know it can’t be easy for the guys, especially in triathlons with three disciplines. Just going through transition is a big thing, as the guide has to watch both our stuff. Also, Transition from bike to run at the Discovery Tri In 2014, David felt ready to go further, so entered the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. For this one he had a relay of guides, with Gert Wilkins running the first 16km with him, then married couple Attie and Candyce did shifts of 14km and 12km respectively. “That was quite an interesting experience, because I only met my guides on the Friday before the race, and we did a few loops around the parking area to get the hang of running together. I got a bit of a surprise at 59