If sport hadn’ t come calling, where would they be now? We put the question to some of South Africa’ s leading sports stars.
By Mark Etheridge
TAZMIN BRITS
( SA Proteas cricketer and scorer of the highest individual innings at the recent Women’ s T20 World Cup)
GAVIN LERENA
( SA’ s champion jockey of 2024 / 25)
“ If it were another sport, it would probably be golf but when I was younger I loved farming and did that for a while, even though my parents weren’ t farmers. My dad bought me a VW Beetle car when I was 16 … it came with an extra engine and I ended up swapping the engine for a pregnant cow and then bought some pigs etc! Maybe 10 years ago I would have said architecture, but do I want to study for seven years now? I’ ve always loved buildings and got that from my dad – we loved driving past old buildings etc and dreamt of buying and fixing them up. I always wanted to be a millionaire one day and maybe that would work. I never had the usual ambitions of becoming a policeman, fireman or doctor. But living in Melkbosstrand as I do right now, I’ d probably say something random like buying a food truck or a coffee shop if I wanted something simple!”
“ If someone had asked me years ago what I would have become if racing wasn’ t part of my life, my answer would have been a pilot. But growing up, all I ever wanted to be was a jockey and I’ m blessed to live my dream. I’ ve always been fascinated by aviation. Much like race riding, flying demands discipline, precision, quick decision-making, and complete trust in your training. Whether you’ re guiding a horse through a tightly contested gap / finish or an aircraft through the skies, every decision counts. Horse racing has allowed me to travel the world, experience different cultures, and compete on some of the biggest stages. A career in aviation would likely have offered many of those same opportunities to see the world just from a very different perspective. Racing has given me unforgettable memories, incredible horses to ride and lifelong friendships – but every time I hear an aircraft overhead, I still wonder what life might have looked like from the cockpit. Fortunately, I found my wings in the saddle, and I wouldn’ t trade the journey for anything.”
BABALWA LATSHA
( SA Women’ s rugby captain and the first SA women ' s rugby player to turn professional)
GIAN-QUEN ISAACS
( Champion South African figure skater)
“ If I weren’ t an elite athlete, I’ d be a law practitioner. I hold an LLB degree from the University of the Western Cape and I’ ve always had a strong sense of fairness and justice. I’ ve also always been a strong advocate for social justice and things of that nature, which is why you’ ll see me now as an elite athlete being involved in solving some sort of social injustice through the foundations that I work with. And because the profession in itself is so multi-faceted and there are so many branches and areas / niche areas that one could look into and for me, that would probably be in sports law / family law and gender law.”
“ If I wasn’ t an elite athlete, I think something I’ d really enjoy doing is forensic pathology. It’ s always been really interesting to me but of course being an elite athlete and being at the rink all day, every day, I haven’ t been able to pursue that … I could also see myself going with my original plan before I got hooked on skating and look into becoming a paediatric surgeon. That’ s also always been another passion of mine.”
www. modernathlete. co. za 17