ATHLETES from across the province were recently honoured for their contributions to their respective sports at this year’s KZN Sport Awards ceremony.
Two of those athletes include a Danville Park Girls’ High School educator, Precious Mthembu, who was named Sport Personality of the Year; and a Danville Park Girls’ High School matriculant, Saskia Hockly, who was a joint winner of the Junior Athlete of the Year award with swimmer, Matthew Sates.
For Mthembu, the award took on special significance as it was her first win and first nomination.
“So many people remarked afterwards that I must be used to winning awards all the time, but the truth is I have never been nominated or won an award at the KZN Sports Awards,” Mthembu laughed.
“It means a lot to me and shows that I’m loved by the people for my contributions to the sport of netball. I think it was the only category on the evening that was decided on votes. I think I’ve touched people’s lives in all aspects of my netball career, and that is an awesome feeling. I’m also super proud of Saskia as I think she deserves to be recognised for her hard work. I hope our achievements will inspire other Danville learners to aim high and to believe in themselves,” she said.
Just weeks later, Mthembu was given the President’s Special ‘Inkanyezi’ award at the Netball KZN Awards.
As head coach of the South African U19 netball team, she also recently led the team to a gold medal at the Region 5 Youth Games in Maseru, Lesotho,
For Hockly, 2021 has been a watershed year for her in the sport of canoeing and surfski.
The Mount Moreland resident won the bronze in the junior women’s K1 and senior women’s K2 race (with Jenna Nisbet) at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Pitesti, Romania.
Earlier this year she was crowned the junior world champion at the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships on the island of Lanzarote.
“I honestly didn’t even expect to be nominated. There is so much talent in the province and just to be recognised by KZN sport is incredibly special. It is also special sharing the award with someone like Matthew Sates, who has been to the Olympics, broken world records and raced at the highest level possible. I think we were both shocked when our names were called out on the evening.
“I remember looking across the table at him and mouthing a collective ‘wow’. It is the first time that the award has been shared in the history of the KZN Sports Awards, so that added another element to how incredible the evening was. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved this year, but I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family and those who support me. This is all possible because of them and I certainly wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today without them,” she said.
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