NQOBILE KHUZWAYO

ERNST VAN DYK

( Member of the all-female crew which sailed the historic Maiden yacht from Dakar to Cape Town, raising funds for girls’ education)

( Eight-time Paralympian, 10-time world championships competitor and record 10-time Boston Marathon winner)

Photos courtesy of © Gilles Dehérand, JOW SportsMedia, Cricket SA and Lawhill Maritime Centre

“ One of the most inspirational sports books I’ ve read is Rise by Siya Kolisi. His story really touched me as it showed how he rose above a very difficult upbringing to become the captain of the national rugby team. For me, what stood out was his strength and resilience and the way he believed in himself, even when life was not easy. So reading his journey reminded me that where you come from doesn’ t define where you’ re going. It also inspired me to focus on my own goals and to keep pushing forward when things get tough, and to trust that with hard work and determination everything is possible.”

CHLOE TRYON

( Proteas cricket all-rounder and former vice-captain)

“ Two of my favourite inspirational sports movies would definitely be Remember the Titans and Coach Carter – such powerful movies and good messages. You know, in sports we come from different backgrounds and different cultures so just about forming that unity, but being able to watch stories and see how they did things to bring people together, and how inspiring it was to see. Those are definitely my two favourite movies.”

JOSH BRUYNS

( Former national and continental speed-climbing champion and 2024 Paris Olympian)

“ My mind mostly went to some of the films I’ ve watched over the past few years. Invictus came up first. I’ m a big Bok rugby fan and it’ s an intersection of sports and political history. Then there’ s a movie called Free Solo, which is quite popular here in SA, about Alex Honnold’ s free solo climb of El Capitan mountain in Yosemite, USA. It’ s one of the biggest granite cliff faces in the world [ close on 900m ] and has never been free soloed before. It only took him four hours which is just ridiculous because some people do it in weeks – and as a climber I could identify with him. It’ s still completely different to what I do … but there are parallels as in repetition and practice and rehearsals and visualisations. I took some good learning from that. The documentary goes into his whole mentality and is well worth a watch even if you’ re not a climber.”

“ For me, Moneyball has never just been a sports movie – it’ s always felt personal. It tells the story of doing more with less, of seeing possibilities where others see limitations, and of challenging a system stacked against you. That resonates deeply with my own journey. Growing up in SA, I didn’ t have the resources, technology, or support systems many elite athletes in the world take for granted. I had to build myself up from very little, relying on determination, innovation, and a belief that there was always another way to compete and win. In many ways, that mirrors what Billy Beane set out to do in Moneyball – out-think rather than outspend, and trust conviction when others doubt the method.”

S’ ANNARA GROVE

( Former SA road race cycling champion and winner of multiple medals at the 2026 SA track championships)

“ The sports movie I found really inspiring when I was growing up was Coach Carter. I guess it’ s not something that first springs to mind when you think of cycling [ laughs ], but I always find people who pull the best out in others( even when they don ' t actually realise it) inspiring. It ' s still got to be one of my favourite movies to watch.”

www. modernathlete. co. za

21