Ernst van Dyk
Ernst was born with congenital absence of both legs. His parents, two provincial-level athletes, recognised his athletic abilities and encouraged him to participate in sports. At first, he went to school in Graaff-Reinet, then switched to the Elizabeth Conradie school for disabled children in Kimberley where his sporting talents flourished. He represented South Africa in the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics in swimming and wheelchair events, his track appearance turning out to be pivotal in his career. The cheers of the crowd as he circled the track inspired him so much that it persuaded him to concentrate on wheelchair racing in the future.
At the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Ernst won a bronze medal in the 400 metres. In Athens in 2004, he won two silver medals in the 800 metres and the 1,500 metres, and a bronze in the 5,000 metres. At the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, he won gold in the hand-cycling marathon as well as bronze in the wheelchair marathon.
Ernst has worked strenuously to increase community involvement in wheelchair racing and hand-cycling. He organised an international event in Paarl, near Cape Town, in March 2005 and ensured that handcycling became an official category in the famous Argus Cycle Tour around the Cape Peninsula, and was also fully integrated into all fun rides around the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Despite his wonderful career in sport, he says his biggest personal accomplishment was earning his college degree, making him the first ever disabled person to graduate for a degree in Sport Science from Stellenbosch University.
On April 20, 2010 the South African government awarded Ernst the Order of Ikhamanga in silver to mark his achievements. He was also the winner of the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award in 2006.