Gold Reef rhythmic gymnasts are among the best at African Championships
BERARIO – Local rhythmic gymnasts turn in the medals at the African Championships in Egypt.
Gold Reef Rhythmic Gymnastics is still on a high after after its gymnasts scored big at the African Championships in Egypt.
The 15th African championships was a special one because it was also the Tokyo Olympics qualifying competition for rhythmic gymnastics.
The senior individual gymnast from Egypt who won this competition qualified for the Olympic Games and will represent Africa.
“As you can imagine it was a great deal of pressure and the competition was intense,” said Gold Reef coach Julene van Rooyen.
Five of Gold Reef’s gymnasts competed in the senior group category. These were Kerryn Cowper, Morongoa Mokholoane, Karishma Naicker, Hannah Cawood and Magreet van Wyk.
They placed second in both their routines and second overall. The group also received their senior Protea colours for competing in the African Championships.
South Africa’s senior individual team consisted of four gymnasts including Erin Wakefield who is coached by Gold Reef’s owner Maureen van Rooyen. Erin finished second overall and qualified for the ball finals, meaning she came in the top eight for that routine.
“We as coaches from Gold Reef are extremely proud of these six girls,” Julene added.
“They showed great sportsmanship, commitment and dedication throughout the preparation as well as the competition. This was definitely a highlight in their gymnastics careers and hopefully an inspiration to future gymnasts.”
Before the South African team left for Egypt, Gold Reef hosted a send off cheese and wine event where the routines were showcased to friends, teachers and family members. Attendees were in awe of what these girls could do and understood why they had to train so many hours every week.
When the gymnasts returned from Egypt they were placed in two weeks’ quarantine in light of the coronavirus pandemic. But before that was over, the national lockdown was instituted anyway.
Details: Gold Reef Rhythmic Gymnastics 082 222 2798.
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