It has been a whirlwind seven months for Henri Schoeman. After finishing seventh in the 2019 World Series rankings, in September he fell seriously ill. Like most people, at the start of what became a month in hospital, South Africa’s first Olympic triathlon medalist Googled what his doctor was telling him was causing his illness and acute fatigue: a Middle Eastern Strain of Coronavirus known as MERS.

At that time, the virus was a little-known illness and searches turned up few results. Like everyone, he has now seen the COVID-19 strain lock-down much of the planet and Coronavirus in the headlines every day since March. After all the initial uncertainty, that brush with illness has given Schoeman even more reason than most to empathise with those both suffering from and dealing with it, and be grateful that he has been able to settle into a workable routine.

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