Joost van der Westhuizen
South African rugby union footballer (1971–2017)
Joost van der Westhuizen (20 February 1971 – 6 February 2017) was a South African former rugby union player. He played as a scrum-half for the national team. He played in the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups.
Full name | Joost van der Westhuizen Heystek | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 20 February 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 6 February 2017 | (aged 45)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Hoërskool F.H. Odendaal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | University of Pretoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Amore Vittone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Businessman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On 12 May 2011, van der Westhuizen's publicist announced that he had a muscle-related neural disease. It was believed to be a form of motor neurone disease. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States[1] have since confirmed that he had motor neurone disease. They believed he had only a 20% chance of living for two to five years.[2]
On 6 February 2017, van der Westhuizen died at a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa from complications of motor neurone disease, aged 45.[3]
References
change- ↑ Suttell, Scott (28 July 2011). "If you're flying out of Cleveland or Akron, you're probably paying more". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ↑ Doctor confirms Joost's fears, 27 July 2011
- ↑ "BREAKING: Joost van der Westhuizen has died". Time live. Times Media Group. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
Other websites
change- Bates, Rupert (2 September 2007). "Joost van der Westhuizen wary on South Africa". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2007.[permanent dead link]
- "Joost van der Westhuizen". bbc.co.uk. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
- "Joost van der Westhuizen". rugbyhalloffame.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
- "Joost Van der Westhuizen". scrum.com. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
- J9 Foundation Archived 2013-11-12 at the Wayback Machine