Occupation
Athlete
Spoken languages
English
Club
Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre [JGC]: South Africa
Coach
Ilse Pelser [club, national]; Leeland Christian [club, national]; Candice Cronje [club, national]
Sporting relatives
Her younger sister Zelme has represented South Africa in gymnastics at the 2021 African Championships in Cairo, Egypt. (SportsDeskOnline, 05 Oct 2022; Instagram profile, 26 May 2021)
Injuries
A gluteal muscle injury ruled her out of the all-around final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (jgcgymnastics Instagram profile, 07 Apr 2018)
Start sporting career
She first tried gymnastics at kindergarten in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Reason for taking up the sport
She was inspired after watching gymnasts competing on television. "I remember how I begged my mum to do gymnastics. I think I saw it on TV and I always dreamed of being like the people I saw on TV."
Ambitions
To qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (Facebook page, 21 Mar 2023)
Trainings
She trains six days a week, for a total of 26 hours.
Most influential person in career
Coach Ilse Pelser, and her parents. (iol.co.za, 24 Jul 2021)
Awards
She was named the 2021 Women's Artistic Gymnast of the Year by Gymnastics South Africa. (Gymnastics South Africa Facebook page, 10 Mar 2022)
She was named Emerging Athlete of the Year at the 2021 Momentum Gsport Awards in South Africa. (Gymnastics South Africa Facebook page, 01 Sep 2021)
Additional information
VISION IMPAIRMENT
She was born with a vision impairment in her right eye. "It's no big deal to me. I can't see at all in my right eye when my left eye's open. I was born like that, so I just don't focus on it. It's hard sometimes with releases on bar, I don't always see the bar, I kind of just go with instinct. I tried glasses, I tried contact lenses, just nothing really works I guess." (businesslive.co.za, 22 Feb 2022; omny.fm, 03 Aug 2021; iol.co.za, 24 Jul 2021)
Last update : 2023-09-22
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