WELCOME
Photo credit: Birkett winning- Credit Graham Daniel
WELCOME TO THE FEBRUARY / MARCH EDITION OF MODERN ATHLETE MAGAZINE.
I have to start off by saying a massive congrats to Andy Birkett for securing an astonishing 16th Dusi Canoe Marathon title, alongside K2 partner Matt Fenn.
As we suggested might happen in last month’ s edition, the 35-year-old has now surpassed the great Graeme Pope-Ellis’ s record of 15 titles. Andy remains one of the country’ s most humble – and arguably most underrated – champions, and he deserves every accolade that comes his way.
A few weeks ago, I was at another of KZN’ s iconic races, the aQuellé Midmar Mile. Once again, it delivered, with around 10,000 people taking part. Running the Randburg Harriers Valentine’ s 10km soon afterwards, it really struck me what an incredible sporting culture we enjoy in South Africa. Every weekend, somewhere in this country, people are lining up to swim, run, ride, paddle or kick off.
Yes, we celebrate our elite athletes doing extraordinary things on the global stage, but we’ re equally blessed with this phenomenal community of everyday participants – plodders like myself – who show up for the vibe, the camaraderie and the simple goal of staying a little healthier. That brings me to one of our features for this month on Kyle the Big Runner. You may have come across him on Instagram – the 147kg guy who has set himself the challenge of running at least 1km every day this year. You can read about his life-changing journey on page 38. https:// drive. google. com / file / d / 1enUGUJkrwUfou mH3Tnriq5iOj6AMtKrp / view? usp = drive _ link
There’ s plenty more to dive into. Our cover star, Prudence Sekgodiso, opens up about the challenging start to her season, while you get to meet some of the SA athletes who’ ve been doing incredible things over the last few months – like junior Grand Slam champ Connor Doig, rising mountain biker Tyler Jacobs, Samla 100 winner Brad Weiss, and the Ocean Mavericks team who clinched a podium place in the World’ s Toughest Row across the Atlantic.
And don’ t miss our preview for the upcoming Women’ s Africa Cup of Nations, where Banyana Banyana will be aiming to get their hands back on the trophy they so famously lifted back in 2022.
We have our usual mix of great columnists, including the always-inspiring Rope Runner, fitness expert Jurgens Grobler, and SPAR Proteas netball captain Khanyisa Chawane, who tells us all about that unforgettable series victory over England.
I’ m a sucker for a good national anthem, and the crowd at that netball showdown at the Ellis Park Arena was next-level. When the anthem rang out? Pure goosebumps. Moments like that remind me why I love this country so much. And the win made it ever sweeter.
Enjoy the read...
Karien Jonckheere karien @ modernathlete. co. za
4 www. modernathlete. co. za