Extreme stories of survival and the human spirit
IF LISTENING to harrowing stories from extreme sports enthusiasts excites you, then don’t miss the Extreme Speaker Box at the Cape Argus SportShow in Stellenbosch this weekend.
It is an opportunity to learn from professionals like Davey du Plessis, Matt Trautman and Greg Bertish what motivates them and how they overcome challenges to achieve success.
It was during an Amazon expedition that Du Plessis narrowly escaped death, so his story is one of the resilience of the human spirit.
“The talk will focus on an adventure in the Amazon and how I nearly lost my life,” Du Plessis said. “From a personal point of view it is definitely a unique and exciting story. Even though it’s an adventure, it’s a survival story, it has that human element.”
Since it will be his first time at the SportShow, Du Plessis is looking forward to meeting like-minded individuals.
Trautman is a professional triathlete from Stellenbosch and has competed all over the globe in Ironman events. He is one of the top-ranked long-distance triathletes in South Africa, holding multiple Ironman 70.3 course records on home soil.
Trautman was hit by a car in January while training to defend his 70.3 South African title. He suffered a compression fracture of his lumbar vertebra and had to undergo a spinal fusion.
He is undergoing rehabilitation and recovery to make a swift return to competitive racing.
Bertish is a stand-up paddler, big-wave surfer, adventurer, humanitarian and multiple cardiac surgery survivor. In 2001, he contracted a rare tropical bacteria that attacked his heart valves.
Over the next seven years, Bertish underwent two open-heart surgeries, had more re-infections, and spent nearly 200 days in hospital.
He is the founder of the Sharkspotter programme and is an ambassador for the Children’s Hospital Trust and the National Sea Rescue Institute.
Last year, he launched The Little Optimist and sailed an eight-foot dingy 200km up the west coast to show that people can do big things and that perceived reality can be shifted.
Tickets for the Cape Argus SportShow are available on the website (www.
sportshow.co.za) as well as at Computicket. Gates at Sandringham Farm are open from 9am to 6pm throughout the weekend. Entrance cost is R150 for adults, R80 for children and R200 for a weekend pass. Children 3 years and under enter free.