TOYOTA CONNECT


LEVELLING THE PLAYING FIELD: PIETER BADENHORST, FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PARALYMPIAN P 22


ieter (46) lives by just three words: “No special treatment.” He had both arms


amputated as a fi ve-year- old, after coming into


contact with a high-voltage cable. Ever since then, he’s ensured that he’s the absolutely best version of himself by not expecting those around to him to treat him diff erently. This is a principle he’s extended


to more than just his sporting life. “I learnt at an early age that there are many advantages to facing hardships head-on – and for me, one of them was integrating into society,” he says. “After I lost my arms and underwent rehabilitation, I had a choice of either sitting on the sidelines and watching my life unfold in front of me, or participating fully. I decided to attend


and Paralympics,” he notes. “It doesn’t matter what the scenario


mainstream schools, then university and eventually started working for Toyota SA in the ’90s,” says Pieter, who competed in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Paralympics. He’s convinced that another reason


he became a gold medallist at the 1992 Paralympics and the national Paralympics’ Chef de Mission in 2012, as well as climbing the corporate ladder to become Senior Manager for Toyota SA’s Training Academy, is that he’s never lowered standards to suit him. This outlook allowed him to obtain a black belt and provincial colours in karate and kick-boxing. Remarkably, these feats were achieved while competing against able-bodied opponents. “To someone who suff ers a traumatic accident, the ability to just move on seems impossible. But you get people who go through that and end up representing their countries at the highest levels, which are the Olympics


is: you have to start by defi ning what you see as your impossible,” he says. “It’s only when you’ve done this that you’ll know whether you’ve succeeded in doing it. Whether it’s in sports, the corporate world or in business, setting diff erent challenges has to form part of your greater vision. “Perhaps even more importantly,


these challenges mustn’t just be tasks, but activities about which you’re passionate. The most fulfi lling aspect about accomplishing something seeming impossible is that you can actually over-achieve!” he chuckles. As a current Board Member of the


International Wheelchair & Amputee Sports Federation, Pieter continues to be involved in grassroots sports, ensuring that other athletes are able to turn their impossibilities into infi nite possibilities.


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