Cape Town. 120531. Jan Nehro, a blind paralympian runner and his trainer, Duane Fortuin will be taking part in the London Paralympics. Jan however is experiencing financial problems which is now his biggest hurdle in actually going to the Paralympics. Reporter Lauren Isaacs. Picture Courtney Africa Cape Town. 120531. Jan Nehro, a blind paralympian runner and his trainer, Duane Fortuin will be taking part in the London Paralympics. Jan however is experiencing financial problems which is now his biggest hurdle in actually going to the Paralympics. Reporter Lauren Isaacs. Picture Courtney Africa
Lauren Isaacs
THE weight of a gold medal against his chest made him feel as though he could conquer the world, no matter that an accident had rendered him unable to see, says paralympic hopeful Jan Nehro.
He is on tenterhooks as he waits to learn within days whether he can pack his bags for London.
Athletes who are blind are classified T11 athletes and are the only runners allowed to compete with another person to guide them, in his case Duane Fortuin.
Holding their position at the competition in Durban earlier this year, the pair qualified to be shortlisted for the upcoming 2012 Paralympics from August 29 to September 9.
Fortuin said they were in the preliminary stages of the selections.
They will learn on Thursday whether they have made the final cut.
In Fortuin’s dining room in Kuils River yesterday a few metres away from his own home Nehro, 39, clutching a handful of his gold medals, said he was more than certain Thursday would bring good news.
“I am confident that we are going to be selected.
“We have been working very hard. And hard work brings rewards.”
Nehro added how proud he was of his achievements, telling of how he grew up without an education and worked on a farm with his father to make a living.
“Look what I have become... from nothing,” he said.
Originally from Riebeek Kasteel, near Malmesbury, and now living in Kuils River, Nehro has competed in more than 20 marathons.
He said he was able to participate and keep the pace by listening to the footsteps of other runners as a guide, after a car accident in 2002 left him completely blind.
“Do you want to know how I got through it? With faith. If I didn’t believe in what I did, I would not have come this far. In a car accident in 2002, I got hit in my eyes with a belt buckle and that’s what blinded me. But I wasn’t going to stop what I was doing,” he said.
Although Nehro had to adapt to a lifestyle without being able to see – “his own world”, as he described it – he continued running marathons.
Later that year he met his guide, Fortuin, at the sports track at the Western Cape Sports School.
Nehro, with Fortuin’s guidance, has since 2007 been the South African record holder in the Nedbank Physically Disabled Championships’ 1 500m and 5 000m events.
lauren.isaacs@inl.co.za