Many years later, Stefanie Greyling is a final-year BCom Sport and Recreation Management student at the campus in Vanderbijlpark. Her love for the sport of hammer throw keeps her in the field for six hours a day:  three in the ring, two in the gym and one hour spent on drilling exercises.

 

Her eyes light up when she talks about the sport she loves so much and the places it has taken her in the past decade: all corners of South Africa, as well as Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and the Ukraine. “A definite highlight for me was the World Youth Championships in Donetsk in the Ukraine,” she fondly remembers. “I was still in Grade 11. It was such a privilege to represent my country. I think it is that experience that keeps me going even in tough seasons like the one I have just experienced.”

 

Not even injury can hold her back

 

As a member of the NWU’s athletics team, Stefanie’s 2017 season was plagued by injury, first her knee and then her shoulder. Even though this did not stop her from performing at her usual level, she was unable to improve her distance.

 

Things eventually started looking up. “Finally, at the SA Student Championships, I got to beat my greatest rival,” she laughs, referring to Letitia Janse van Rensburg, one of her best friends and a team mate. “Letitia and I motivate each other to do better with a tongue-in-cheek rivalry. It is great to have a friend like her.  If I win, she’s happy for me. If she does, I celebrate with her.”

 

When asked about her role model, the name of German hammer thrower Betty Heidler comes up instantly. Stefanie had the privilege of meeting her hero at a sports clinic at Sasolburg Technical High School, where she matriculated. “She has been struggling lately, but she’s still my hero.  She has an incredible technique. And in the gym, she lifts about 20 times more than I do!” says Stefanie.

 

More women take up the sport

 

There is a lot to learn from a strong woman like Betty Heidler.  The sport is still very male dominated, but Stefanie says there seems to be an increased interest from female athletes in recent years. More and more girls have been attending the annual clinic she presents at Hoërskool De Kuilen in the Western Cape.

 

“I started going to the Western Cape to help a few athletes with their technique. Now it has become an annual clinic with many coaches who also attend to get a feel for the hammer themselves,” she explains.

 

Her plans are to enrol for her honours in entrepreneurship in 2018 and pursue coaching as a career upon graduation. “I want to promote the sport in South Africa,” she says.

 

With a personal best of 58,70 m with a 4 kg hammer, Stefanie is still promoting the sport as part of the NWU’s athletics team and by motivating aspiring athletes to keep on following their dreams.