After 10 years in professional athletics, Paralympic gold-medalist Dyan Buis says he is ready to hang up his running spikes. With his last race in sight, Nicole Nasson sat down with the athlete to discuss the change of competitions over the years, inclusive education and the future of South African para-sports.
Maybe you won’t notice it immediately, but when you meet Dyan Buis you’ll detect a slight limp in his stride. Once you spot this stagger to his left, you’ll detect an inconspicuous reflex to bend his left arm when relaxed and minor cupping of his left hand.
If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that’s how he positions himself. That this is just how he walks. But you do know better and you know that under the limp, bent arm and cupped hand is Dyan Buis, the Paralympian.
Buis has cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a type of brain damage that can be brought on by many factors, both genetic or acquired during development. This medical condition can affect your hearing, sight and spine, among other things. At the age of three, he was diagnosed with a mild case of the medical condition after his family noticed that something was wrong.
“[My family] saw that something was wrong with me when I started crawling to the one side. I went for tests and then it was confirmed that I have cerebral palsy,” he says.
Going against the doctor’s recommendation, Buis’ mother, Daydreen, decided to place him in the local mainstream primary and high school – a decision Buis is extremely grateful for. He attributes his fairly normal upbringing to being amongst his able-bodied peers during his development.
In 2008, 17-year old Dyan Buis broke his high school’s long jump record. Buis described himself to be a short teenager, nonetheless, he set a record in an event favoured by taller athletes. That same year, the 2008 Paralympic Games took place in Beijing. Along with 3.8 billion other people around the world, Buis watched the multi-sport event on television. The season’s best score of the T37/38 (classification for para-athletes with cerebral palsy) long jump event was 6,44m. Buis’ high school record was 6,38m. With only a 6 cm difference, Buis realised his dream to compete in the Paralympics.
Buis accredits his love for sport to his family, friends and community in his hometown of Riversdale. Tucked in between coastal towns Heidelberg and George, Riversdale has a big sporting spirit, Buis said. “[The community] allowed me to play rugby, soccer and athletics [with my able-bodied peers]. I was involved in soccer clubs and rugby clubs. I was always just crazy about sports. They always allowed me to participate and never judged me. It was a positive experience,” Buis said.
“My community really embraced me and saw other qualities [in me] rather than my disability.”
Despite his disability, Dyan Buis went to mainstream school. Buis’ mother wanted him to have a normal upbringing. PHOTO: Instagram/@dyanneille
THE PARALYMPIC DREAM
The next year, Buis decided to pursue his newly-found dream and inquired to be part of the Paralympic Sport Movement. Once classified as a T38 competitor, Buis was fast-tracked to compete in competitions. In 2010, Buis was selected to compete alongside a world championship team, without qualifying for a national team. Hereafter, Buis received what he calls his ‘big break’.
Dr Suzanne Ferreira, a well-renowned Paralympic coach and sports scientist, invited Buis to train with her athletes. With her help, he began training to compete in major international competitions and prepared for the 2012 Paralympics in London. This was the start to Buis’ international athletic career.
“When I came to my first competition, I actually did very well. That is when I saw that I have the capability to compete on an international level and I did it myself [and] improved in my athletic ability. Then I saw I was one of the top three [athletes in my classification] in the world.”
“I realised I have to pursue this because it’s a talent and passion I have.”
After being selected, Buis went on to compete in the 2012 London Paralympics Games. Buis’ dream was materialising. That year, he walked away with two silver medals in 100m and 200m sprint and one bronze medal in T37/T38 long jump.
THE BACK-UP PLAN
While Buis seemed to have a great footing in the athletic world, that was not all he had set his sights on. Buis studied theology through his church’s seminary in Kuils River. After three years of study, he enrolled for postgraduate studies in theology and education at Stellenbosch University.
He says the plan was always to go into education and that theology served as a means to get there. At the time, becoming a teacher was the easier thing to do with his qualification in theology. He then went on to attain his PGCE (postgraduate certificate in education).
“But when I started [teaching], I fell in love with teaching because I love working with people and I love seeing kids develop. That’s why I chose theology in the first place. It was just the logical option, to have an income and to still make a difference in someone’s life.”
Currently, Buis is a geography teacher at the historic Lückhoff Senior Secondary School in Stellenbosch and is in the process of completing his Master’s in Education Policy Studies.
RETIRING FROM ATHLETICS
Buis will be retiring from athletics this year. When he talks about his athletic retirement, you can simultaneously hear a sigh of relief and a reminiscent laugh. He rubs the back of his head, showing off a handful of grey hair. “I’m old now,” says the 29-year old.
With plans to obtain a PhD, retirement will be quite busy for the soon-to-be former athlete. Having to wake up early for school and come home late from training, Buis leans back and says what he is looking most forward to is drinking coffee after a school day and not going anywhere.
“I’ll be like a normal human being. I probably will [miss athletics], but I will fill my time. Knowing me, I will.”
Dyan Buis wants able-bodied athletes and disabled athletes to be treated equally. PHOTO: Instagram/@dyanneille
After a two-year hiatus, Buis says he plans to return to athletics, but in administration. Buis begins to shuffle in his seat as he speaks of his plans for the future. His vision for the future of para-sports is to professionalise it, attract the recognition it deserves and secure proper wages and sponsorships for para-athletes.
“I want to make sure that the structures [for para-athletes] are in place. I would probably be on a national board [to do so].”
Buis says that the level of competitiveness has increased over the years. That’s the biggest thing people probably don’t realise when it comes to para-sports, he says. It’s super competitive. As he ages, the competitiveness is felt more so than before as he has to compete against younger athletes.
His family and the university are among his biggest supporters, says Buis. His wife, Erna, gives him emotional support and nudges him along when he wants to skip out on practice. The university, on the other hand, provides more of a practical support, as Buis explains he’s on a sports bursary.
“The university is probably one of my biggest supporters,” he says. Also, in terms of finances. “They support me in competitions.”
A CALL TO PROFESSIONALISE PARA-SPORTS
For most of the interview, Buis is soft-spoken. He is polite and kind-hearted.
Suddenly, there’s a boom and it’s coming from Buis. The conversation has turned and he starts talking about the stark yet unjustified contrast between able-bodied sports and para-sports.
Para-athletes work harder than able-bodied athletes, Buis says. Not in the traditional sense, since able-bodied athletes are employed full time as professional athletes and therefore clock more training hours.
No, para-athletes work harder to keep up, he says. Because para-athletes are not full-time professional athletes, they don’t get paid as much and thus have to seek additional income, he explains. There is an unknown hierarchy in athletics and para-athletics, he says. Able-bodied sportspeople are the top earners, followed by physically disabled athletes as their disabilities are visible.
“What the media runs after nowadays, for example, are athletes without a leg because you can see they don’t have a leg. But with me, you can’t see my disability so I struggle to get sponsorships.”
There’s a hype during the Paralympic year, as Buis put it, but it dies down soon after. Consistent and sustainable coverage of para-sports is Buis’ solution, and he calls for the media to recognise para-athletes as professional athletes.
Scrunching his face, Buis explains that athletes are not recognised equally. A raspiness can now be heard in his voice. Gesturing a shooing hand, symbolising the dismissal of para-athletes compared to mainstream athletes, Buis continues about the lack of recognition para-athletes receive. “We’re professional athletes. It’s not ‘ag shame, look at them (disabled athletes) run’. We’re athletes and they need to see the athlete in us,” he says.
“There’s still that stigma that we’re not on the same level as abled-bodied athletes. I want to create an awareness [around the fact] that Paralympic and Olympic sports are equal. We’re just as professional.”
“It’s a mindset. You are only as disabled as you think you are. I know I have a disability, but I don’t see myself as disabled. [Your disability] is not an excuse not to do anything.”
Dyan Buis is in the process of completing his postgraduate studies in theology and education at Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Instagram/@dyanneille
*Please note: This interview was conducted before the nationwide lockdown regulations were implemented.