On the road again for gutsy triathlete

Cyclist back in saddle year after serious accident

AYEAR ago, Gonubie triathlete Ralf Wittrowski almost lost his life in a cycling accident when a vehicle turned in front of him near the Floradale intersection in Beacon Bay.

With 112 external stitches on his left thigh, a number of internal stitches, 53 stitches on his upper left arm, seven on his back, nine on his chin, a collapsed left lung, broken collar bone and 13 broken ribs – doctors said the father of two had minimal chances of making a full recovery, let alone of riding a bicycle again.

However, it only took him a month after the accident to get back on his bicycle.

And to show he is back in full force this year, Wittrowski said he will be tackling the Half Ironman later this month which consists of a 1.9km swim, a 90km road cycle and a half marathon.

“I’m about 95% there. Obviously I am not as strong as I was before the accident but mentally I am much stronger,” Wittrowski said when the Daily Dispatch caught up with him on Thursday – the oneyear anniversary of the accident.

“The only thing that is still healing are the muscles between the ribs which need to re-align again.”

Wittrowski said after the Half Ironman, he would attempt the full Ironman in Port Elizabeth in April and then the Comrades in June.

He said his fitness at the time made a massive contribution to his speedy recovery. “Basically the left side of my body was crushed.”

Wittrowski said to celebrate the one-year anniversary, he and his family had gone out to dinner with friend and paramedic Pierre Crafford of Alderson Ambulance who saved his life by puncturing his lung to drain the blood out and revived him at the scene.

“He’s like my second brother you know. The amazing thing is Pierre was off duty that day but he responded to the emergency call,” Wittrowski said.

He said he was thankful for the second chance at life and hoped other cyclists had learnt a lesson from his accident.

Wittrowski said with the increasing number of cyclists dying on the country’s roads, it was advisable to be ultra-cautious.

“I would advise cyclists to have some form of identification. Whether it’s your name or a number on the helmet.”

Wittrowski said the recent death of top mountain biker Burry

Picture: STEPHANIE LLOYD TOUGH AS NAILS: Ralph Wittrowski was involved in a cycling accident that almost claimed his life a year ago. Today he is back on his bicycle and ready to do the Half Ironman next Sunday

Picture: SAPA LAST GOODBYE: Members of the Stander family carry professional cyclist Burry Stander’s coffin at his funeral service at the Norwegian Settlers Church in Port Shepstone, Durban, on Thursday. Stander died tragically when he was hit by a taxi