Two wrestlers fly the South African flag high
Historic sport has its own local chapter
Tradition, discipline and honour are the core values of combat sports. Keeping the ancient art of wrestling alive and well in South Africa is Team Ruiter.
Two of the club’s finest athletes will be representing South Africa at the upcoming African Championships. The United World Wrestling (UWW) sanctioned event will be held in Algiers, Algeria from 4 to 9 February, and head coach Dean van Zyl will be hoping that one of his wrestlers can go one better than last year.
Riehan Botha will be competing in the 50–55kg division and was a silver medallist at last year’s championships. He can also boast a fifth place at the World Championships and will be looking to do his club and country proud.
The second of Team Ruiter’s representatives is Machiel Grobler who will be competing in the Junior Freestyle category. A previous gold medallist, Machiel placed eighth at the World Championships.
Coach Dean is excited about the prospects of his wrestlers saying, “They have been training hard and they have the experience to bring back a medal each”.
Team Ruiter has been in existence since 1962, making it the oldest wrestling club in Roodepoort. An ever-present at the Olympics since the first modern games in 1896, Greco-Roman wrestling in South Africa is under suburb stewardship in the shape of this historic club and it’s passionate members.
