Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 102, January 2018 | Page 26

Living a Healthy Tri Life
One of the athletes lining up for this year’s Fedhealth XTERRA Grabouw off-road triathlon on 24 February
will be Fedhealth Brand Ambassador Natia van Heerden, a former XTERRA World Champion in her age
category, and a huge fan of the event.
Sporting Genes
Natia’s sporting background while growing up in Johannesburg began
with gymnastics at the age of five, and over the next 11 years she rose to
senior Olympic level and toured the world with Team SA. “That taught
me incredible life lessons and self-discipline, but then at 17 I moved into
duathlons and sprint triathlons,” she says. “At 18 I was doing standard
triathlons and even half Iron distance races, and I’ve gone on to do 12 Half
Irons and one full Ironman.”
Nobody was surprised to see her then do well in multisport, given that both
her parents are triathletes and qualified for