Wheelchair-bound sports cop boasts with more than 150 medals

Warrant Officer Nicolaas Otto from the Randfontein Police is breaking boundaries and not letting his disability get in the way of his love for sports.

This comes after bagging more than 150 medals over the years for participating in different sporting activities that caters for disabled people.

Otto, who has been in the police force for more than 30 years, is disabled and currently in a wheelchair.

He said that his sporting journey has been nothing short of amazing but expressed that it wasn’t always easy for him.

Otto used to be an athlete prior to getting shot. Otto encountered his life-changing event when he was shot on August 9 back, 2001.

“I used to be an athlete since I was in primary school and I must admit that I was a bit negative after I got shot. However, I went on with my therapy. I also engaged with motivational speakers and other people in wheelchairs and that’s when I started becoming hopeful. I just told myself that life doesn’t end here and I was then introduced to wheelchair basketball.

“I then also tried wheelchair tennis and disabled darts as well as sprinting with a wheelchair, javelin, discus and shot put,” said Otto, who said despite his busy schedule, he does make time for sports.

On the day he was shot, he had just knocked off and was dropping his colleague in Roodepoort. He then went into a petrol station on his way back to Randfontein and was met by a robbery in progress.

During this time, Otto walked back to his vehicle to call for back up and that’s when he got shot.

Detailing life after that, Otto said finding out that he was disabled after this, was a lot to take in.

He struggled for a few years but eventually came to terms with his disability and was determined not to let it get in his way.

He started with sport in 2003 and also alluded to the fact that he has taken on more sporting activities as a disabled person as opposed to prior his life-changing incident.