Jaco-Albert van Gass (born 20 August 1986) is a South African-born British

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

who competes in

para-cycling Para-cycling (or Paracycling) is the sport of cycling (sport), cycling adapted for cyclists who have various disability, disabilities. It is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The sport consists of seven different events which in ...

track events. He won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inter ...

. He is a three times world record holder in

Track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

Deployment in Afghanistan

Van Gass was born in South Africa. At the age of 20, he moved to the UK to join the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

. In mid-2007, he finished his training and became a member of the Parachute Regiment. During his second deployment to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in 2009, he was hit by a

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

, losing his lower left arm, puncturing internal organs, and suffering a collapsed lung,

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

and blast wounds, and leg fractures.

Athletic career

Van Gass first learned to ski and took part in competitions as a member of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team. In 2011, he was the first South African-born person to conquer the eighth highest mountain in the world at 8,164 metres, the

Manaslu Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Mana ...

in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. In 2012, he made an attempt to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

, which failed due to poor weather conditions. In the meantime, he has also successfully completed marathons. In December 2013, van Gass was part of a group of disabled soldiers who, together with

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

, completed a 335-kilometre march to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

for the benefit of the aid organization

Walking With The Wounded Walking With The Wounded (WWTW) is a British charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), th ...

. This raised £1.5 million in donations that were to be used for the athletic rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. Van Gass then turned his interest to cycling and was accepted into the Paralympic Development Program in 2013. At the

Invictus Games The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spi ...

in September 2014, he won two gold medals in cycling. Since the end of 2014, he has been participating in the Paralympic Academy Program of

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...

. Van Gass made his debut at the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships and finished seventh in the individual pursuit and eighth in the 1,000 metre time trial. At the

2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships The 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling where athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place at the Montichiari Velodrome in Montichiari, Italy from 17 to 20 March 2016. ...

Montichiari Montichiari (Brescian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on December 27, 1991. The town is home to the Gabriele D'Annunzio airport (Italian: ''Aer ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, he won the bronze medal in the

scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...

. Two years later, at the

2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships The 2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling with athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 22–25 March 2018. 31 events were held on the ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, he finished third in the individual pursuit. In 2020, he won a silver medal in the pursuit and gold medals in the

kilo KILO (94.3 FM, 94.3 KILO) is a radio station broadcasting in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado. It also streams online. History KLST and KPIK-FM The 94.3 signal signed on the air on August 22, 1962, as KLST, owned by Little London Broa ...

, scratch race and

omnium An omnium (from Latin '' Omni'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that fe ...

. At the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

, van Gass won the gold medal in the men's individual pursuit C3, mixed team sprint C1–5 and the bronze medal in the men's time trial C1–3. Van Gass was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to cycling.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Gass, Jaco 1986 births Living people People from Steve Tshwete Local Municipality British male cyclists Paralympic cyclists for Great Britain Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics South African emigrants to the United Kingdom Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British Parachute Regiment soldiers Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Members of the Order of the British Empire