Modern Athlete Magazine November 2026 | Page 25

Rotating from one apparatus to the next is standard in women’ s artistic gymnastics, but for Anke Badenhorst, one of South Africa’ s leading coaches and judges, it has also meant personally coming full circle.

She recently returned from judging at the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and then seamlessly switched roles from judge to head coach ahead of the Summer Youth Olympics in Senegal.

“ I still can’ t really get my head around the fact that after all these years, I’ m a judge in that same arena, the Rotterdam Ahoy, where gymnastics made me love the sport so much.” Gymnastics, and sport in general, runs richly through the Badenhorst family’ s veins.

Incredibly, she’ s the youngest of eight children.“ My mom comes from a missionary family, and her brother and sister-in-law were both killed in an ambush during the bush war in Zimbabwe, so my parents adopted their five kids.

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“ I took a bit of a coaching hiatus when my kids were born as we were living in Pretoria and it was a 45-minute drive to coaching in Johannesburg. But my kids started gym when they were only two years old.”

When daughter Sophia was six years old, Badenhorst says she“ saw something very special and gave Ilse a call and told her I’ m bringing in my daughter to training”.

“ So we were a big family and I had a fantastic childhood in Pretoria. My dad was a runner, my mom played hockey, and in fact all my brothers and sisters played one sport or another.”

It was the same brother Bernie who instilled her love for gymnastics.“ He was my first coach who taught me to roll and do handstands and I just never stopped. I was always on my hands and doing cartwheels and stuff.”

So, Sophia started at JGC at seven and the rest, as they say, is history. This year she made the junior team for the African Championships and was also part of the national team that did duty at the Pharaohs Cup in Egypt.

Now 47, after starting gymnastics aged six, Badenhorst simply broke down in tears of joy when informed by Gymnastics SA that she’ d been selected to judge in Rotterdam.

“ I literally burst into tears as it was a classic fullcircle moment in my life and career,” she explained.

Photo credit: Photos courtesy of ACK Sport Photography

In the blink of an eyelid, she was whisked back into another century, almost 40 years ago when she was a wide-eyed eight-year-old kid.

“ My biological older brother Bernie, who also did gymnastics, managed to get his hands on a copy of a Betamax video of the 1987 World Championships in Rotterdam, and I truly watched that video over and over again until it became so frayed that even by the time technology evolved where videos could be transferred to a DVD, it was too frayed.

“ I knew the entire commentary off by heart and was just a complete gymnastics nut.”

The evolution of technology means that YouTube now allows her to watch those same’ 87 championships in a much better format.

The event left a deep impression on young Badenhorst.

When she was seven, Badenhorst’ s parents enrolled her at TuksSport where she competed into her high school years under the guidance of top coach Lynette Lindeque, following her to wherever she moved to coach. It was there that she soon realised she’ d be a much better coach than gymnast, and the transition was smooth.“ I started coaching at Tuks High Performance Centre before getting married and then moving to Cape Town for a few years.” To this day she credits husband Kobus for much of her happiness and always giving her the freedom to follow her gymnastics passion.

“ He was then transferred back to Pretoria in 2007, and I put out the word that I was back in Gauteng and that’ s where Ilse Pelser, now national head coach and owner of Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre, got hold of me and that’ s how our journey began.”

Then there’ s her son, Jos, who started off at Centurion Gymnastics Club before finding that the Wanderers club in Johannesburg was a better fit for him. He’ s also soared higher and higher ever since.

“ He’ s gone from level nine to senior Olympic level in no time at all and we’ re hoping he makes SA team for African Championships next year.” As a reward for having no matric holiday due to him competing and as part of a birthday gift, the Badenhorst parents were able to fly Jos over to the Netherlands to be part of the World Championships as a spectator while mom did her stuff on the floor as a judge.

All the while Badenhorst was adding to both her coaching and judging qualifications, and in 2010 it was a case of double delight as she achieved her Protea colours in coaching and was also named Gymnastics South Africa’ s Coach of the Year.

So mom worked and son learnt as the circle that started in 1987 finally completed its rotation in Rotterdam – call it a Betamax moment!

Judging is what thrills her most these days.“ When I judge I truly feel like a fish in water … It’ s never a chore for me. I really love it, feel totally at home, and it’ s a pure passion of mine.”

The good news for South African gymnastics is that Badenhorst has already made sure that the next generation has benefited from her enormous knowledge.