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| Honour for International Weightlifter |
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| Monday, 23 November 2009 20:40 |
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PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN ... Sports champion Mona Pretorius, 21 shows her silver medals that she won at the recent Commonwealth Games in Malaysia
THIRD-YEAR sports psychology student Mona Pretorius is this year’s NMMU’s sportswoman of the year. This down-to-earth former Framesby pupil is like any other 21-year-old – she loves dancing, singing and spending time with friends, but with one difference: not many of her friends are black belts in karate who can lift more than three times their body weight. Mona is an international champion weightlifter and has won the South African championships for nine years in a row, winning the senior title in her weight division in July 2009.
Her personal best is 180kg, a South African record, and her most recent international accolade was a silver medal last month at the Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia.
Even for a weightlifter she is a tiny 56kg and 165cm tall, competing in the under 58kg weight division.
“People always think that as a weightlifter you have to be big and when they see me they can’t believe I’m a weightlifter. They always think, but that’s a man’s sport, not a girl’s sport. When people think of weightlifting they think of body builders. It’s a completely different sport. This a sport that focuses on power and strength.”
She trains twice a day with her coach Aveenash Pandoo and no longer has time for karate, which she competed in for eight years.
“It’s hard to juggle my studies with my training. My training has a lot to do with quality and not quantity. As a weightlifter your body constantly changes and new methods need to be used. It is very tough to fully prepare for my competitions. Nutrition and rest are very important, as they help you to recover faster, and good rest helps me to be ready for each training session to give my best. Mental preparation is also very important in order to be fully ready for my competition.”
She started weightlifting in 2000 when she was only 12 as a means to improve her karate. During this time she won six world championships in karate and progressed as far as her black belt.
“My father got me involved in the sport. I started weightlifting to improve my karate and it helped my explosive power and strength.”
The whole family is involved with sport: her mother Yvette is a national referee in weightlifting, her father Pieter played Craven Week rugby and her younger sister, Mariska, 17, has also competed in weightlifting.
Mona was thrilled to bring back a silver medal from the Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia last month.
“I’m so happy, I’m so excited and I wish I could bring the trophy home, but it’s still in Malaysia. I received a nice certificate in a frame, which is very nice.
“The girl that won the gold had a lighter body weight than me in our 58kg weight division.”
Mona says she’s very honoured to be NMMU’s sportswoman of the year. It’s such a great achievement.”
She competed in her first weightlifting competition in 2001 and has gone on to compete in numerous international championships, being the first South African weightlifter to win a medal at a world championship event, the University World Championships in November 2008.
“My ultimate sports dream is to compete in the Olympics in London in 2012 but for now I’m training for next year’s University World Championships in Chinese Taipei in July 2010.”
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| Last Updated on Monday, 23 November 2009 20:42 |
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