du PLESSIS Daniel

South Africa

Athletics

Date of Birth: 4 Nov 1993

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Sport Class: T62

Place of birth: BELLVILLE

Birth Country:

South Africa

Place of residence : PRETORIA

Residence Country:

South Africa

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Men's 100m - T64
	Men's 400m - T62	7

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Men's 100m - T64 Round 1 - Heat 1	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Men's 400m - T62 Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
World Championships
4	400m - T62	2019	Dubai, UAE	55.34

Nickname:

Dan (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Hobbies:

Writing fiction, watching movies, reading. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Occupation:

Finance

Education:

Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Languages spoken:

Afrikaans, English, German

Debut:

2019 for South Africa (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Start:

He got involved in Para athletics in 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; limpopomirror.co.za, 14 Sep 2018; LinkedIn profile, 01 Feb 2018)

Reason:

"Before 2018, I had never competed in athletics in my life. I also didn't do any sport since 2010 due to the severity of my impairment. After starting my life on prosthetic limbs in 2013, I focused all my energy and time on my studies and developing as a leader at university. In February 2018 I got my first set of blades, embarking on this journey of becoming a professional 'Bladerunner'." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Ambition:

To compete at the Paralympic Games. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Memorable:

Competing at the 2019 World Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Hero:

German Para athlete Johannes Floors. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Influence:

Coach Cathy Landsberg. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Philosophy:

"I've come to realise just how powerful sport can be. Often one finds amputees who hide their disability under long pants. They don't want people to see their stump or prosthetic limb because their feelings or fear of weakness forces them to cover it up. But when we exchange the long pants for tights and run with it, we become extremely powerful. And the world needs that. And we, as disabled people, need that, to do the out-of-the-ordinary with what at a first glance seems impossible. We can make the world believe in miracles." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

General Interest

Classification
T62 (IPC, 01 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (limpopomirror.co.za, 14 Sep 2018)

Impairment Details
He was born with fibular hemimelia in both of his legs, as well as impaired development of the lower limbs. He had to undergo surgery and below-the-knee amputations in 2013. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

General
OCCUPATION AND STUDIES
He completed a degree in actuarial science from Stellenbosch University in 2017, and now works as an actuarial specialist and quantitative credit analyst. "I'd like to become a qualified actuary. I [also] want to lecture one day at a tertiary institution." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; LinkedIn profile, 01 Jul 2019)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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