Nicolas Pieter du Preez (born 1979 or 1980) is a South African athlete in

paratriathlon Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon (TRI) (formerly known as ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, ...

. In 2013, he was the first person with

tetraplegia Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

to ever complete an

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...

. Du Preez started competing at the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

in 2008 and was a seven-time winner from 2012 to 2018. In international events, du Preez competed at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in the 100m event and won gold 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 ...

in the

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

as a H1 competitor. At the

UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships are the world championships for road cycling where athletes with a physical disability compete, organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The Championships were earlier administered by the ...

, he has won five golds as part of his thirteen accumulated medals from 2014 to 2022. Outside of his athletic career, du Preez works in

risk assessment Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of: # identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and # making judgments "on the to ...

as an analyst.

Early life and education

Du Preez was born in 1979 or 1980 and spent his childhood in

Randburg Randburg is an area located in the Gauteng, Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly a separate municipality, its administration devolved to the newly created City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, along with neighbouring Sandton and Roo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

at the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Te ...

and completed an

honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

specializing in

investment management Investment management is the professional asset management of various securities, including shareholdings, bonds, and other assets, such as real estate, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors. Investors may be institut ...

Career

Athletics

During his childhood, du Preez competed in running, cycling and triathlon. In 2003, he was paralyzed from the chest down after a traffic accident. Du Preez returned to sports in 2005 by competing in

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US name ...

. He resumed his running career when he ran at the 2008

in the T51 event. At Berlin, du Preez won his first title in 2012 and retained back to back titles from 2012 to 2018. In other athletic events, du Preez won a silver in the 200m and a bronze in the 100m at the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

. The following year, du Preez came in 6th place during the Men's 100 metres T51 event at the

. After his Paralympic performance, du Preez broke the 10,000 m world record for

wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

in 2015. That same year, he also set new African athletic records in 200 m, 1500 m, and 10,000 m. During his triathlon career, du Preez was the first person with

to ever complete an

in 2013. In 2018, he participated at the

Ironman 70.3 An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting o ...

World Championships. At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships as a T51 competitor, du Preez was seventh in the 200m and eighth in the 100m.

Cycling

In cycling, du Preez won multiple gold and silver medals at the

. His first medals were in 2014 where he was second in time trial and won the road race event. The following year, du Preez won both the time trial and road race events at the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships. During the 2017 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, du Preez won gold in time trial and silver in road race. In 2018, he won a silver medal in the road race and time trial events. For the 2019 edition, du Preez won a bronze in time trial and was sixth in road race. For the 2021 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, du Preez won gold in the road race and silver in the time trial events. At the

held in 2021, du Preez won gold at the

for H1 competitors. At the Paralympics, du Preez was also eighth at the road race for H1-2 cyclists. During the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, du Preez won silver in the time tiral and bronze in the road race for H1 competitors. Outside of sports, du Preez is a

analyst.

Awards and honors

In 2016, du Preez was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.

Personal life

Prior to competing at the Summer Paralympics in 2021, du Preez broke his

coracoid process The coracoid process (from Greek κόραξ, raven) is a small hook-like structure on the lateral edge of the superior anterior portion of the scapula (hence: coracoid, or "like a raven's beak"). Pointing laterally forward, it, together with the ...

and

acromioclavicular joint The acromioclavicular joint, or AC joint, is a joint at the top of the shoulder. It is the junction between the acromion (part of the scapula that forms the highest point of the shoulder) and the clavicle. It is a plane synovial joint. Structure ...

from a fall. Du Preez is married and has one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Preez, Pieter Paratriathletes Berlin Marathon male winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics South African athletes Living people Year of birth uncertain Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in cycling Paralympic gold medalists for South Africa