Caits (JGC Gymnastics Facebook page, 19 Apr 2020)

Student

Marketing Management - University of Johannesburg: South Africa

English

Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre: South Africa

Ilse Pelser [club, national]; Leeland Christian [club, national]; Candice Cronje [club, national]

2017

In 2019 she sustained a foot injury. (sapeople.com, 18 Sep 2019)

Between 2015 and 2017 she dislocated her left knee five times. Her orthopaedic surgeon confirmed that she had completely ruptured her medial patellofemoral ligament on the interior side. She underwent surgery in 2017 and took a recovery break which lasted nine months. (Black and White Sports YouTube channel, 25 Apr 2020; newframe.com, 19 Nov 2019; sapeople.com, 18 Sep 2019)

She took up gymnastics at age six. Two years later she joined Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre, and at age 11 she began competing in international events. "By the time I got to high school I was training six days a week. So, straight after school I would go to training and didn't really have opportunity to do any other school sports."

She was active as a child and her parents enrolled her in a gymnastics club to channel her energy. "I was a very busy child. I could never sit still. I was up and down, trying to climb over walls, inside the door frames, always really putting myself in dangerous situations. My parents didn't really know how to control my energy and they were quite worried about me. A few of their friends recommended the sport to them, they didn't even know what gymnastics was then. I remember my mom told me the doctor wanted to diagnose me with ADHD and they wanted to put me on medication and stuff and she decided, no, I just need something to channel my energy."

To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (dailymaverick.co.za, 28 Jul 2022)

Competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (northcliffmelvilletimes.co.za, 15 Dec 2022)

US artistic gymnasts Simone Biles and Alexandra Raisman. (Black and White Sports YouTube channel, 25 Apr 2020; newframe.com, 19 Nov 2019)

"The body achieves what the mind believes." [Simone Biles] (newframe.com, 19 Nov 2019)

She was named Women's Artistic Gymnast of the Year for 2022 by Gymnastics South Africa. (Gymnastics South Africa Instagram profile, 19 Mar 2023)

She was named Age Group Sportswoman of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year at the 2022 University of Johannesburg Sports Awards. (UJ Sport Instagram profile, 28 May 2023; northcliffmelvilletimes.co.za, 15 Dec 2022)

She won the Ministerial Award for Excellence at the 2022 Momentum Gsport Awards in South Africa. (UAG African Gymnastic Union Facebook page, 15 Sep 2022)

She was named Emerging Athlete of the Year at the 2020 Momentum Gsport Awards in South Africa. (Gsport4girls Facebook page, 01 Sep 2020)

MULTIPLE KNEE DISLOCATIONS
Between 2015 and 2017 she dislocated her left knee five times. In 2017 she opted for surgery. "Because my knee was struggling so bad, it was my left knee, it resulted in my right ankle being injured for the over compensation. At that point we just thought that we can't really push the operation out any longer, and it's causing other problems. I ended up going for surgery in August 2017 and I was out for the rest of the year. Due to that, I also missed one of my biggest goals which was the [2018] Commonwealth Games, which I already qualified for in 2017, it was before my injury. I think that was the hardest period in my career. My coach, Ilse Pelser, she told me I would either make a really big comeback from this injury or I wouldn't come back at all. You mentally had to decide before, what it's going to be." (northcliffmelvilletimes.co.za, 15 Dec 2022; forbesafrica.com, 05 May 2022; uj.ac.za, 06 Apr 2022; olympics.com, 23 Apr 2021; glamour.co.za, 31 Jul 2020; Black and White Sports YouTube channel, 25 Apr 2020)

TATTOOS
In addition to a tattoo of the Olympic rings on the inside of her left forearm, she has one on her right arm that says 'And Still I Rise' and another one on the right side of her body that pictures two butterflies. She also has one on the right side of her neck which says 'Evolving'. "Attending an Olympics was a lifelong dream for me. And the unspoken rule among athletes is that you have to get a tattoo. So, while I have the rings, I have another tattoo [on her right arm] which I got [in 2020] after I qualified for Tokyo 2020. It says, 'And Still I Rise'. It carries significant meaning for me. It's a reinforcement that I'm resilient, that I will always bounce back. I will always be going forward in my career and I will always rise above everything thrown at me. In my own eyes, I'll always be a winner. My best friend [South African artistic gymnast Naveen Daries] and I got [the two butterflies tattoo] on the spur of the moment. We've been through everything together. We're rivals when we're on the competition floor, but outside of that we're best friends for life. [The one on her neck] says 'Evolving' and for me it's a symbol of growth. It's all the phases of life I've experienced and am still going through and yet to go through." (dailymaverick.co.za, 28 Jul 2022)

EDUCATION
In 2022 she began studying marketing management at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. "It was a hard decision, but I pushed out studying for two years because the Olympics came into view, but I couldn't push it out any longer. I wanted to study and took up a marketing management degree. It's been a heck of a rollercoaster combining gymnastics and full-time studying. People overlook that it's not just the four and a half to five hours a day in the gym, but it's also the physio, recovery, the small, small things outside of that which add to the day. Then, behind the scenes, I need to try to catch up on work. The big thing that keeps me going is the end goal. Many people have scant regard for the work and dedication that gymnasts do. In the beginning, it upset me, at high school, and even when I started university. Other sports people asked lecturers for a bit of slack, but that didn't apply to me. But hard work has got me to where I am. I believe in working hard in silence and if I'm successful you will hear the noise." (northcliffmelvilletimes.co.za, 14 Dec 2022; intlgymnast.com, 02 Sep 2022; dailymaverick.co.za, 28 Jul 2022; uj.ac.za, 06 Apr 2022)