Most women don’t actively daydream about brilliant footwork strategies to avoid a well-aimed punch, or of knocking-out their opponent first blow. Most women are not like Hedda Wolmarans of Auckland Park.
Wolmarans took gold at the Gauteng Championships in the Amateur Boxing welterweight class (69kg) in the Transnet Gauteng Championship last weekend, knocking out her opponent in less than 35 seconds.
“It was fun,” she said at Booysens Amateur Boxing Club, her training ground, on Wednesday. “Actually, this was the first time I got a fight in the Gauteng Championships. Many women box to keep fit and it works. Boxing is excellent exercise. But not many in our province are interested in boxing on a competitive level.”
She has won the inter-varsity championships twice, and she’s also been the South African champion twice. She also took silver in the Zone Four African Championships in Pretoria in April, competing against Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Mauritius and Mozambique.
“The Zone Four Championship was great,” Wolmarans said.
“There were a lot of contenders, and it was clear that many African women box – it was competitive and awesome.”
She takes hits and bruises in her stride.
“I’m not afraid to get hurt – it means being strong, being fast and having endurance. It’s a wonderful challenge.”
She practices at the club ‘as often as she can’ under the watchful tutelage of coach Nicky Ness. Ness was a Springbok boxer himself. This well-known Johannesburg club opened its doors in 1928 and has delivered many of South Africa’s champions – Phil van Niekerk, Duggie du Preez, Duggie Miller and George Angelo among them.
“I don’t actually take women at the club,” Ness admitted. He looked at his charge helplessly and shrugged.
“But, well… Somehow Hedda’s been with us for more than two years now.”
Booysens delivered another gold in the Gauteng Championships from Morné Theunissen in the super heavy weight 91 plus division, while Ricky Chabalala from the medium-light division had a walk over at the championships.
Wolmarans studies sports psychology at the University of Johannesburg, and excels in sport – though it’s not something she would say herself. In 2007 she was ranked 383rd in tennis on the ITF world rankings.
Boxing is her passion now.
“You can play rugby, cricket and soccer, but you can’t play boxing. It’s not a social sport, it’s more aggressive, and it’s more intense. It’s so empowering. I love it.”
She’s at the gym every day. “Training for me is running around seven and half kilometres a day, and then I start to do drills with coach.”
“Yeah, then it’s time for me to hit her around a bit,” coach Ness joked.
Wolmarans is competing in the National Amateur Boxing Championships in the Eastern Cape from the 1 to 5 July.
“I’ll definitely think of going pro one day,” she said.
“There’s still a lot to do and a lot of experience before that though. And right now I’m concentrating on my exams this weekend.”
