Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August/September 2019 | Page 66

INSPIRATION
Local female Paralympian
para-cyclist defies the odds
A double world champion and property founder
BY ISHANI CHETTY
In a few years I rose
from rookie para-
cyclist to competing
internationally
around the globe
on the world stage
winning many world
cups and eventually
being titled the world
champion in 2015 in
the Switzerland.
C
o-founder of Asher properties, Justine Asher is prov-
ing that nothing is impossible as a quadriplegic
award-winning sportswomen.
At the age of 18, Justine was injured in a car accident which
resulted in her losing the use of her legs due to paralysis and
she was left a quadriplegic. After months of rehabilitation,
doctors told Justine that she would never walk again, but she
persevered and regained the use of her arms and some use of
her hands.
Later in her life, at the age of 26 Justine met her husband
Shaun Asher, the two have been happily married for 21 years
and have two teenage daughters. The couple run a successful
real estate business, Asher Properties, in Cape Town.
As an inspiration to women across the world, Justine
had always been fitness-conscious with a love for running,
swimming and being outdoors. At the age of 40 she decided to
embark on a new challenge.
Justine comments on her sporting achievements and the
numerous awards she has received.
“I started para-cycling in 2012 when I got my first-hand
bike. In early 2013 I competed at OCC winning my first 42km
race. In a few years I rose from rookie para-cyclist to competing
internationally around the globe on the world stage winning
many world cups and eventually being titled the world
champion in 2015 in the Switzerland. In 2016 I was selected
to represent South Africa at the Rio Paralympic Games. In
the years that followed Rio, after retiring from competing,
I participated in the 2018 and 2019 Cape Town Cycle Tour -
109km in distance. In 2018 I won the title for the 42km OCC
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
finishing in the time of 1:29:56,” she said.
Within the para-cycling races, Justine competes in the
H2 Category – which includes athletes “with impairments
corresponding to a severe lesion at C7/C8 or above.” Athletes
within this category compete on a hand-cycle with a rigid
frame in a recumbent position.
In 2013, Justine became the victim of a medical scam
which promised a miracle stem-cell procedure to cure her
paralysis and fracturing bones in both her feet. Facing multiple
challenges, Justine overcame her obstacles and in 2014 was
named South African sportswoman of the year with a disability.
This year Justine will compete in the 17th Outeniqua Cycle
Challenge (OCC), a wheelchair race that attracts athletes from
across the globe and will take place in George on 14 September
2019. It is a wheelchair race exclusively for disabled athletes
and is the first of its kind to be hosted in South Africa.
Ernst Van Dyk, a well-known OCC participant expresses
that he is impressed with the determination Justine has in her
sporting career and her rapid rise among the elites of the sport.
“We don’t have many female hand-cyclists in South Africa
and Justine has come through very fast and has raised the
interest of other females wanting to get into the sport,” said
Van Dyk. “She is very dedicated in her training and she is
going through a fast learning curve as we head for World
Championships,” added Van Dyk.
Justine has an undeniable passion for being out on her bike,
without any limitations and believes that with hard work and
dedication, women can reach the highest level in any sport.