Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 64, November 2014 | Page 12

Ma In the lead

“Obstacle
racing really is so
much fun, because it
challenges my whole
body, and my mind”

Using her gymnastics strength on the Tarzan ropes.

cracked a few ribs falling off this same obstacle at the Warrior
Nationals in November. While the other elite girls could just
watch, she headed for the finish, crossing the line with what
has become her trademark leap for joy and vivacious smile,
to claim her second Warrior race title – and it took another 40
minutes for the second-placed woman to finish!
“They always leave the hardest obstacles for the end at
Warrior, so my strategy in the race is to hold back in the middle
and save my energy for the end,” says Dominique. “In Warrior,
you keep trying to get past an obstacle, or you can do burpees
instead and move on, but then you don’t get an official finish
and don’t qualify for prize money. The problem is, the more
you try an obstacle, the more you get fatigued. I actually
finished and went back to go cheer the other girls on, but Carla
and Jetaime just couldn’t do it, and Hanneke eventually did it
after about 20 tries, despite falling awkwardly and breaking her
ankle!”

Upper Body Strength

Indomitable

Dominique

Dominique (30), who works as a personal trainer in the
Durbanville area of the Cape, did her first obstacle race at the
2012 Impi Challenge in Stellenbosch, but just for fun. Then
in 2013 she did the Impi again and another smaller obstacle
race, where she heard about the Warrior series, so she entered
the Cape Town leg of Warrior and won it, then went to the
Nationals in Joburg. After recovering from her rib injury and
completing a second 70.3 Ironman, she finished third in the
first Impi Cape Town of 2014, picked up second and third
positions in Warriors in Joburg and Ballito, won the next Joburg
Warrior, and got third in the Cape Town leg in October (where
she took it easy due to not having recovered fully from a flu
bug).
One of the reasons Dominique has taken so quickly to
obstacle racing is her upper body strength, honed by 14
years of competitive gymnastics. She competed for SA at the
World Champs in Belgium as well as competitions in Italy,
Germany, Tunisia, Malaysia and Namibia, but in 2002, ranked
number one in the country, she faced Commonwealth Games
disappointment. “Not long before the Games, some or other
committee decided that they didn’t want to send a female
team, because they didn’t think we would medal. Typical South
African mentality, they just flushed people’s sporting dreams
Dom all smiles after her
Warrior win in Joburg.

Having represented South Africa in both gymnastics and triathlon,
Dominique D’Oliveira has now turned her focus to obstacle course
racing, and with a number of wins and podium finishes already under
her belt, she’s well on her way to more sporting success.
– BY SEAN FALCONER

A

rriving at the tough Tarzan rope swing obstacle with about one kay to go in the sixth elite
Black Ops race of the Jeep Warrior Series in Johannesburg in September, a muddy Dominique took
a second to catch her breath as she waited her turn, watching as the girls ahead of her lost their
grip or ran out of strength and fell off the ropes. Carla van Huysteen had arrived at the obstacle
first, nearly 15 minutes clear of second-placed Hanneke Dannhauser, with Jetaime Ribbink and
Dominique a few minutes further back, but neither Carla nor Hanneke could get past the ropes.
As they walked back to try yet again, Dominique wiped her hands, took hold of the first rope and
went for it, sailing right through on her first attempt, not stopping to worry about the fact that she

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ISSUE 64 NOVEMBER 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za