Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 51, October 2013 | Page 15

Post Race Fuel
How you want to ?nish…
athlete with a red afro going a bit crazy in the call room, teasing her hair in between hitting the wall and screaming!” However, that didn’t put Ilse off and she brought home 400m gold to go with a bronze in the 100m. “Your first international gold medal is always special as you hear your national anthem, but the Paralympic gold medals will always stand out.”

VISION PROBLEMS
Ilse ran her first race in primary school, aged eight, and promptly smashed the school record. However, when she was 11, her tennis coach noticed that she was struggling to see the ball, and then her teachers also noticed she couldn’t read the board any more, so they urged her parents to have her eyes tested. She was diagnosed with a condition called Stargardt’s Disease, which affects the retina and causes exceptionally blurry vision. “Between the ages of 11 and 13 my eyes deteriorated quite quickly,” says Ilse. “I was told I will never go blind, but even up close things are blurred, so I read with a magnifying glass, and I sit close to the TV. However, the most annoying thing is that I can’t drive. I’m lucky to have people that drive me around, including my incredibly supportive husband, Cassie, who luckily works flexi hours as a financial advisor.” Born in Johannesburg, Ilse has lived and trained in Stellenbosch since coming to study Sports Science in 2004, which she followed with an Honours in Paediatric Exercise Science. She married Cassie in 2010 and is currently training full-time plus doing volunteer work with local children as a sports co-ordinator at a University of Stellenbosch community project. She is part of the powerful Maties-Helderberg club coached by Suzanne Ferreira that dominates SA Paralympic sports. “Our Stellenbosch group is incredible. We enjoyed so much success in London, and in Lyon only three out of SA’s 18 medals did not come from our club. It is also a privilege to compete overseas with so many close friends.”

Lap of honour after jumping to gold in London.

Ilse and husband Cassie.

“I know quite a few people with disabilities who were told by doctors they wouldn’t be able to compete or participate, and many of them proved the doctors wrong. I believe that if you have the passion for something, then it’s no-one’s place to stand in your way because you’re disabled. If you have the self-belief that it is possible, go for it – or else you’ll always wonder what if.”

For more information contact Bosch Domestic Appliances on [phone] or visit our website at www.bosch-home.com/za
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