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http://www.supercycling.co.za/default.asp?id=181893&des=article&scat=supercycling/sacycling
Terence Parkin is the surprise selection in the South African Deaf Cycling team that will be taking part in the World Championships in San Francisco from June 18-24.
Parkin, better known for his extraordinary swimming achievements, has taken up cycling in recent years and will lead a five-member team to the United States.
According to team manager George Cornelissen, the 2000 Olympic breaststroke silver medallist has been complementing his swimming training with an intensive cycling workout. He also said that Parkin’s cycling exploits were a big surprise to him.
“Terence begins swimming training at 3am, then at 7am he hits the road and cycles 200km a day. I wasn’t even aware that he was cycling until he came to the trials.”
Besides for his astonishing silver medal in Sydney 2000, Parkin won gold at the Goodwill Games in 2001 and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 - all able-bodied events. He also set a new standard at the Melbourne 2005 Deaflympics, becoming the most successful competitor in the history of the Games by winning 12 gold medals and one silver.
The other members of the team are Johan Reyneke a promising cyclist from Worcester, who is a specialist mountain biker. Enrikus Koekemoer a talented track rider from Tygerberg. Juan Duvenage, an allrounder with great potential and Ashley Abrahams a young up-and-coming track rider.
Cornelissen explained that it was hard to judge how well the team would do because they had not competed much on the international stage. “We don’t have much of a structure for deaf cyclists in South Africa, so we will be going there to gain experience. Hopefully when we return from the champs, we can begin building structures and developing competitive cyclists.”
There was no qualification required for the World Championships, with 12 other countries competing in San Francisco. The hosts, the United States, have the largest team with 11 cyclists competing, then the Italians with 10. South Africa have the third largest team, together with France and the Czech Republic. Other countries taking part are Australia, Canada, Russia, China, Colombia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Mongolia.
Terence Parkin is the surprise selection in the South African Deaf Cycling team that will be taking part in the World Championships in San Francisco from June 18-24.
Parkin, better known for his extraordinary swimming achievements, has taken up cycling in recent years and will lead a five-member team to the United States.
According to team manager George Cornelissen, the 2000 Olympic breaststroke silver medallist has been complementing his swimming training with an intensive cycling workout. He also said that Parkin’s cycling exploits were a big surprise to him.
“Terence begins swimming training at 3am, then at 7am he hits the road and cycles 200km a day. I wasn’t even aware that he was cycling until he came to the trials.”
Besides for his astonishing silver medal in Sydney 2000, Parkin won gold at the Goodwill Games in 2001 and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 - all able-bodied events. He also set a new standard at the Melbourne 2005 Deaflympics, becoming the most successful competitor in the history of the Games by winning 12 gold medals and one silver.
The other members of the team are Johan Reyneke a promising cyclist from Worcester, who is a specialist mountain biker. Enrikus Koekemoer a talented track rider from Tygerberg. Juan Duvenage, an allrounder with great potential and Ashley Abrahams a young up-and-coming track rider.
Cornelissen explained that it was hard to judge how well the team would do because they had not competed much on the international stage. “We don’t have much of a structure for deaf cyclists in South Africa, so we will be going there to gain experience. Hopefully when we return from the champs, we can begin building structures and developing competitive cyclists.”
There was no qualification required for the World Championships, with 12 other countries competing in San Francisco. The hosts, the United States, have the largest team with 11 cyclists competing, then the Italians with 10. South Africa have the third largest team, together with France and the Czech Republic. Other countries taking part are Australia, Canada, Russia, China, Colombia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Mongolia.