Seventy-six and still running strong

Growing up on a farm where her parents used to work since she was four years old is where Gogo Seabi’s love for running started.

She says her parents used to tell her that when she was four years old she used to run around the farm and that is when her father, who also loved running, realised that she was going to be an athlete.

At the age of eight, Seabi started to train with her father who also recruited other children who were living close to their farm to join them and train together every morning and afternoon.

When Seabi moved from the farm to live in KwaThema’s Tornado section, her love for running was affected as she did not know anyone to train with, however, she did not give up running but continued to do what she loves the most.

It was when she got married that her running was negatively affected.

“My parents-in-law were not happy about my running as they believed that as a married woman it was not an appropriate thing for me to do,” said Seabi.

The one thing that opened the doors to running again for Seabi was when she got a job as a domestic worker in Selcourt.

She says she was lucky to work for a family that also loved running.

“We started each day by running before engaging ourselves in our daily work,” Seabi explains.

At the age of 60 Seabi retired and has dedicated all her time in ensuring that the youth in Kwatsaduza is getting involved in sport.

She later joined the Kwatsaduza Athletic Club and took part in many running competitions in and around Gauteng.

Seabi will be competing in a 10km run in the Gauteng Marathon to be held on September 7.