Article: Supplied
Toni Mould is a South Africa Para-cyclist. She had been cycling and competing internationally for six years now.
She was born with severe cerebral palsy. It affects her muscle tone, her balance, speech and has truly impacted her life. As a young girl she always longed to participate in sport but her family lived in a small town where there was no opportunities for a young disabled child. She could only make this dream come true when she started cycling as a 29 year old young woman.
“Cycling has become a vital aspect of my life, not only giving me a chance to travel and compete at the highest level of the sport, but also to stay healthy and keep my muscles, joints, and organs strong, increasing my general health and well-being,” she says. Being on the trike (her racing bicycle with three wheels) is really giving Toni that freedom that we all take for granted. She enjoys being on the open road without anyone needing to hold her hand or to push her around in a wheelchair. She has full control and can feel the wind in her hair and enjoy the freedom of movement.
She has been part of the South African Para-cycling team since 2015 and have competed in four World Cups (two in SA, Italy and Belgium) and three World Championships (SA, Italy and the Netherlands). This determined athlete have several National Championship titles and one World Champs silver medal from 2017.
For the last six year Anet Bosman has been assisting Toni on this amazing journey. It started as friends. Back then Anet had just bought a bicycle and discovered that Toni also cycles. “She wanted someone to cycle with, because she was unfit,” Toni teases her friend. “Yes, I did not want the other cyclists to leave me behind and I did not want to feel I have to keep up with them. Now I have to cycle to keep up with Toni!” Anet laughs.
Anet is Toni’s right hand when she tours overseas to compete in championships. She sees to it that Toni conserves her energy and can just focus her energy on the race. “I help her shower and get dressed and ready. I pack everything and get it ready for the next day so that when she wakes up she has everything she needs and does not have to worry about anything,” Anet explains. “This is the challenge for someone like Toni. We all take energy for granted. Toni has to manage her energy. I use this analogy. We all are blessed with ten spoons [of energy] at the beginning of the day and some of us end up with two or three spoons at the end of the day. Toni ends up with nothing at about 11 o’clock. By then she has no more spoons left. On trips to compete, we want her to preserve her energy so that she can pump it all into the race.”
Watch the interview with Toni and Anet here:
Toni cannot compete as a Para-cyclist without the help of others. “I can’t do it alone. That is why the funds we need to raise, are higher. There are two of us that need to travel and not just me as the cyclist,” she explains.
Toni has several goals for 2021. The biggest one is to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympic Games. To qualify, she must participate in several other competitions in 2021. First the SA Championship and then the World Championships.
“Paralympic cyclists in South Africa have to finance themselves due to the lack of funding from the government and corporate sponsors. Funds raised through this Back-a-buddy campaign will be used for my cycling preparation and competition expenses in South Africa and in Europe in 2021,”says Toni.
Please support this brave athlete in her quest to take part in this year’s competitions, visit: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/toni-mould
You can also sponsor her for her fundraising trip from Plettenberg Bay to Stellenbosch: 496.5 km in 41 days. Sponsor Toni for R2.00 per kilometre to help her raise funds for the World Championships in Portugal from 9-13 June 2021. Email Toni at tonicycling01@gmail.com
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Date published: 27/04/2021
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