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Feature
Inspirational Survivor
Young Johannesburg cyclist Hayden Nesbitt has impressive sporting credentials and loves the challenge of riding his bike in the big tours around South Africa, but not many know that he first had to recover from a life-threatening condition before he could pursue his sporting dreams. – BY KYLE DEELEY
Hayden Nesbitt has spent a major portion of his life cycling, thanks to his dad“ pretty much living on a bicycle,” as the 21-year-old student from Johannesburg puts it.“ It seemed impossible not to become interested in cycling,” he adds. That saw him begin cycling at the age of four, and he completed his first 94.7 Kiddies Cycle Challenge at age six.“ As the years went by and as I matured, I raced in the senior, more competitive events, including the Cape Town Cycle Tour and the 947 Cycle Challenge.”
Aside from cycling, Hayden also took part in various other sporting codes as he grew up.“ I have spent time playing ball sports such as waterpolo, soccer and squash, and I love participating in a team, and from the age of four up until the age of 13 I was also a competitive gymnast, representing Gauteng many times and winning awards around the country. But my most competitive sports are surfing, swimming, running and mountain biking. I also regularly take part in parkruns, as I enjoy the competitiveness and challenging myself to improve my times,” he says.“ Individual sports play a vital role in my life, as, in my perspective, they are the building blocks in becoming a strong, independent and successful individual.”
Receiving Bad News
What makes Hayden’ s sporting record all the more impressive is his medical history. You see, at the age of nine he was diagnosed with cancer after doctors discovered a tumour on the left side of his brain. Hayden subsequently had brain surgery to remove the entire hippocampus from the left temporal lobe, and this had a major effect on his vocabulary and short-term memory, making it impossible for him to adapt to a normal classroom learning environment, and it also caused a high level of obsessive compulsive disorder( OCD). He is thus highly inquisitive, but struggles to focus.
Fortunately, Hayden was able to deal with the cancer, surgery and recovery thanks to various things.“ By distracting myself from the disturbance, I was still able to see the light in everything I did. Also, my parents were the biggest influence on me overcoming cancer. The fact that they did not just stay positive, but also told me things that made me feel positive, really helped me heal so quickly, and that’ s why I think so positively to this day,” says Hayden. The other thing that he says got him through it was faith.“ I believe that I have overcome every struggle in my life, not just the brain tumour, by having faith, and only focusing on the positives. Many people say they focus on positivity and that helps them conquer almost anything. Well, I did that too.”
This positive mindset saw Hayden not only bounce back quickly on the physical side, but also in terms of learning.“ I still had major potential and did well in various subjects, but the OCD made it harder, as I could never get past that perception barrier, and thus I never reached my full potential academically. However, I still achieved what I expected to achieve, as I learnt to adapt to it and appreciated where I had come from. I still struggle with it tremendously today, and I have subconsciously been forced to adapt to it in order to deal with it, but I now have my own life-thinking mechanism to grow and prosper in every way imaginable,” he concludes.
Back to Cape Town
Now in his third and final year of studying Strategic Marketing at Vega School, Hayden says his positive mindset also plays a huge role in his cycling success, allowing him not only to ride fast, but also take on the long distance events, including his favourite event, the Cape Town Cycle Tour.“ It’ s my favourite due to the amazing scenery and the incredible atmosphere that the race offers. Participating in this event is not just a challenge for me physically, but is rather an experience that can be challenging yet fun and memorable. It balances fun and fitness, and for me that’ s the first step I go about when creating a balanced mindset, which overall affects my performance in everything I do, not just cycling.”
“ Many people say they focus on positivity and that helps them conquer almost anything. Well, I did that too.”
Image: Courtesy Hayden Nesbitt
48 ISSUE 92 MARCH 2017 / www. modernathlete. co. za