Jaco van Gass

Jaco-Albert van Gass MBE (born 20 August 1986) is a South African-born British racing cyclist who competes in para-cycling track events. He won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He is a three times world record holder in Track cycling.

Jaco van Gass
MBE
Personal information
Born (1986-08-20) 20 August 1986
Middelburg, South Africa
Team information
DisciplineTrack
Medal record
Men's para cycling
Representing  Great Britain
Summer Paralympics
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Individual pursuit C3
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Mixed team sprint C1–5
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Time trial C1–3
Track World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Milton 1K time trial C3
Gold medal – first place 2020 Milton Scratch race
Gold medal – first place 2020 Milton Omnium
Gold medal – first place 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines1K time trial C3
Gold medal – first place 2023 Glasgow1K time trial C3
Gold medal – first place 2023 GlasgowScratch race C3
Gold medal – first place 2023 GlasgowOmnium C3
Silver medal – second place 2020 Milton 3K pursuit
Silver medal – second place 2019 Emmen Road Race C3
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Rio de Janeiro Individual pursuit C4
Silver medal – second place 2023 GlasgowIndividual pursuit C3
Silver medal – second place2023 GlasgowMixed team sprint C1–5

Deployment in Afghanistan

Van Gass was born in South Africa. At the age of 20, he moved to the UK to join the British Armed Forces. In mid-2007, he finished his training and became a member of the Parachute Regiment.[1] During his second deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, losing his lower left arm, puncturing internal organs, and suffering a collapsed lung, shrapnel and blast wounds, and leg fractures.[2]

Athletic career

Van Gass first learned to ski and took part in competitions as a member of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team. In 2011, he was the first South African-born person to conquer the eighth highest mountain in the world at 8,164 metres, the Manaslu in the Himalayas. In 2012, he made an attempt to climb Mount Everest, which failed due to poor weather conditions. In the meantime, he has also successfully completed marathons.[1]

In December 2013, van Gass was part of a group of disabled soldiers who, together with Prince Harry, completed a 335-kilometre march to the South Pole for the benefit of the aid organization Walking With The Wounded. This raised £1.5 million in donations that were to be used for the athletic rehabilitation of wounded soldiers.[3]

Van Gass then turned his interest to cycling and was accepted into the Paralympic Development Program in 2013. At the Invictus Games in September 2014, he won two gold medals in cycling.[4] Since the end of 2014, he has been participating in the Paralympic Academy Program of British Cycling.[5]

Van Gass made his debut at the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships and finished seventh in the individual pursuit and eighth in the 1,000 metre time trial.[5] At the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy, he won the bronze medal in the scratch race. Two years later, at the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, he finished third in the individual pursuit. In 2020, he won a silver medal in the pursuit and gold medals in the kilo, scratch race and omnium.

At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, van Gass won the gold medal in the men's individual pursuit C3, mixed team sprint C1–5 and the bronze medal in the men's time trial C1–3.[6]

Van Gass was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to cycling.[7]

References
  1. "Jaco van Gass – Military Speakers". Militaryspeakers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021.
  2. "Injured in Afghanistan, now Paralympic champion". Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. "Welcome Home Press Conference". Walking With The Wounded. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  4. "3 Invictus Games athletes tell us how training has helped them recover from life-changing injuries". tv3.ie. 13 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  5. "Jaco Van Gass". British Cycling. 10 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  6. "Jaco van Gass". Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  7. "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N19.
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