Teammates of cycling star and University of the Western Cape (UWC) alumna Zanele Tshoko are rallying behind the cyclist with a fundraising campaign to help with her medical bills after she was hit by a vehicle during a training session last month.
The 26-year-old member of the South African national cycling team, who hails from Khayelitsha, is in good spirits after sustaining several severe injuries from the incident.
Tshoko says she is feeling okay but she is due to have an operation at a Gauteng hospital soon. She suffered a severely broken femur as well as a fractured arm and lacerations to her face. Her teammates started the fundraising campaign to help her foot her sizeable hospital bill while she is on the road to recovery. They have also called on the public and the UWC community to contribute towards Tshoko’s medical bills.
Tshoko has been a professional cyclist for some time now and became involved with cycling while still in primary school when she was 12 years old. In 2011, she spent two years at UWC studying towards a BSc in Sport Science.
She believes in training hard for success and has previously been quoted in the media as saying, “Through discipline, determination, passion, and hunger for success, I can only look forward to my future as a cyclist with beaming hope.”
Tshoko’s close friend, radio and television personality Liezel van der Westhuizen, confirms the cyclist is in good spirits. “My heart breaks about the accident and her medical bills but the cycling community has been amazing,” van der Westhuizen says.
To contribute to the campaign, contact [email protected] or visit www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/zanele-tshoko for more information.
Picture: Pixabay