In the lead up to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8), Paralympic bronze medallist Tyrone Pillay announced his retirement from competitive athletics after he did not make the team selected to compete in France due to a limited number of spots.

The former KwaZulu-Natal based athlete, who now lives in Belgium with his family and works in the Olympic and Paralympic development department of Toyota, caps off a 15-year-long field athletics career in the Men’s F63 division during which he represented South Africa at numerous international events and two Paralympic Games.

He says he is excited for the next chapter of his journey and aims to continue to make a difference in the realm of Paralympic sport.

“I was initially disappointed to hear that I will not be competing in Paris, but I had a change of heart after people responded warmly to my ‘retirement’ message on social media. It made me feel seen and appreciated,” Pillay told journalist, Jehran Naidoo at the start of August.

Pillay was born with an abnormality on his left foot and has been a prosthetic device user since he took his first steps at 10 months old.

From the age of three, he dreamed of representing his country in international sport. After watching the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, Pillay was inspired to try field athletics and effectively trained himself in the Shot Put Throw and Discus Throw disciplines.

He represented KwaZulu Natal at every annual Toyota SASAPD National Championships since 2009.

Pillay made his international athletics debut for South Africa in 2011 at the Para athletics World Games in Sharjah, UAE where he emerged as one of our country’s podium contenders at a future Paralympic Games.

In 2016 Pillay’s hard work paid off and he was selected to represent South Africa at the Rio Paralympics where he won bronze in Shot Put Throw.

“Competing at the highest level in Rio was always my goal. It was something I worked hard towards, and I knew I was going there to achieve something. Winning that bronze is a career highlight and a moment that I will never forget,” he says.

Pillay went on to represent South Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Initially, he was not planning to participate in Tokyo. A conversation with Toyota CEO, Akio Toyoda, when they met at an awards ceremony in 2017, made Pillay change his mind.

In 2020, he was selected as a Toyota ‘Start Your Impossible’ brand ambassador; a role he still holds today as he attends the Paris Paralympics as a guest of Toyota Global – one of the major sponsors of the Games.

During the years that Pillay chased his Paralympic goal, he became involved with the Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund (Jumping Kids) and did a lot to help promote the charity, which provides access to prosthetic equipment and rehabilitative care for children living with lower limb mobility challenges.

He has a history of involvement and fundraising with Jumping Kids since 2009 – most notably in support of a group of learners at Open Air School in Pillay’s hometown, Durban. One such learner is Sphelele Dlamini. Dlamini was fitted with his first customized bilateral lower limb prosthetics thanks to Pillay’s efforts. He is currently playing wheelchair basketball professionally in France.

“When I met Tyrone and the team from Jumping Kids, I had already been using government issue prosthetic legs for some years. The opportunity to have my prostheses custom-manufactured, as part of the Jumping Kids Open Air School Project, made a huge difference.  It became easier to get around and that boosted my confidence. Tyrone is my hero. He helped to change my life,” says Dlamini.

Now, after 15 years of dedication to his sport and helping to create inclusive societal change during it, Pillay is taking some down-time to enjoy the Paralympics from a different perspective and, who knows, perhaps already identifying his next ‘Start Your Impossible’ challenge.