Johannesburg – A tearful Annerie Kemp was on Tuesday crowned as the winner of the 2021 Toyota Fortuner Challenge, walking away with the R600 000 car and dedicating the win to her husband who started chemotherapy on her victorious day.
Kemp, who is a commercial pilot, said she initially wanted to buy the car for her husband two months ago, but her financial situation took a wild turn when her company grounded flights due to the coronavirus pandemic.
So instead, she looked for other ways to get a Fortuner, and she entered the competition with a clear objective – to win the car for her husband.
“My husband had chemotherapy today and we actually wanted to buy a Fortuner two months ago and then with work, and Covid-19 and everything, it closed down – my job, so we couldn't buy the Fortuner.
“So then I Googled how to win a Fortuner and I saw this and I thought ‘I’m going to win this car’,” she said shortly after the keys to the R600 000 valued car were handed to her.
Kemp, who had been drafted in the competition by Media24 as their contestant, was competing with three others, Justin Maguire for Independent Media, Shaheen January for Arena Holdings and Greg for Supersport.
It was the woman contestant who came out on top after the physically gruelling exercises which included cycling, 4x4 advance driving, archery, raft building and a physically bruising obstacle course which also included pulling the 2000kg car to a finish line.
The contestants were partnered with celebrity heroes and professional athletes, including Cheetahs rugby player Oupa Mohoje (paired with Maguire), race driver Giniel De Villiers (paired with Kemp), fitness enthusiast Zaakirah Khalek (paired with January) and wellness coach Steffi van Wyk-Brink (paired with Greg).
For the second year running, due to Covid-19 regulations, Toyota hosted the event in Gauteng in the Krugersdorp area over a single day and not in the Garden Route where the event has been traditionally staged over three days.
Speaking to IOL after her win, Kemp said she made a plan to win the car after she couldn't buy it when her company grounded flights for months due to the virus and other operational issues.
She said she prepared extensively for the event.
“I had Covid-19 in June, so I had to get my fitness back up, so I started training and I did a 4x4 course to feel how the Fortuner drives on a 4x4 track.
“I also did mountain biking, running and some trail runs, it was all worth it,” she said.
Speaking about her husband, Kemp said she was praying for a miracle and was confident he would recover.
“The doctors diagnosed him with cancer, but he is getting his chemotherapy treatment and we are trusting for a miracle to happen. This is already a miracle, so there's more to come,” she said.
IOL