SA’s deaf Olympic swimmer Terence Parkin punched in road rage incident

In a video circulating on social media, celebrated SA athlete Terence Parkin is seen being punched in a road rage incident.

Parkin managed to film the incident with what appears to be a dash cam. In the video, Parkin is driving, and pulls over. A man who has also pulled over can be seen confronting him, while Parkin tells the camera he doesn’t know what the man is saying because he’s deaf. The man then starts asking Parkin: “Are you deaf?”

Parkin can then be heard being punched, and shows his injuries to the camera afterwards.

Several other videos were posted on Facebook, with others showing the aftermath of the incident. In one video Parkin shows his injuries to the camera. He appears to have gotten a burst blood vessel in his eye from the assault.

In the comments, people expressed outrage, while others got to work identifying the alleged culprit through his registration number. This information has not been verified.

Parkin, who specialises in the 200-metre breaststroke, has competed in both the Olympics – where he won a silver medal in 2000 – and the Deaflympics, where he has won 33 medals, making him the most decorated athlete to have competed in the tournament.

He is the only deaf swimmer to be part of the international water sports body FINA’s elite rankings in 1999 and 2000.

Parkin made headlines in 2011 when he saved a boy from drowning.

In 2017, he became Global Brand Ambassador for the Deaf and Blind for the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article contained videos detailing the assault on Parkin, which have since been removed from Facebook for unknown reasons.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.