She won gold for South Africa in discus at the Commonwealth Games in Australia last year, but Elizna Naude is not getting carried away.
The 28-year-old admits she is a “train-a-holic” and says the day she stops enjoying the sport, she will quit.
For Elizna, “Nothing is Impossible” and she will continue to strive for excellence as long as her body will allow her.
She spoke to gsport about her life in general and her love for sport.
Introducing our February gSTAR, the talented Elizna Naude!
What is your full name?
Elizna Naude
Nickname?
Lizzy, I think it’s from my first name, also when I’m overseas, it’s difficult for people to say my name, and I say to them, just call me Lizzy (laughs), and then anyone can call me (laughs).
Date of Birth?
14 September, 1978
Star Sign?
Virgo.
What do you think of astrology?
No, in our religion, we don’t look at that stuff, I’m a Christian.
Where were you born?
In Vereeniging.
Do you still go there to visit?
I go there when I go home, my dad and mom stay in Sasolburg, and I taught there for five years. I’m in Pretoria now for a month (laughs) …
And do you prefer the big city, or the smaller towns?
I prefer the smaller towns, but what’s nice about the big cities, is that (you’ll find) 10 of everything in the reach of a kilometre or more, like if you’re in Hatfield, you can go to Brooklyn, Lynwood Square, wherever you want to go, so… It’s really just so busy, so I like to go home every now and then to have peaceful weekend.
What is it about South Africa that you love the most?
You know, if you go overseas, day to day, it’s cloudy, most of the time it’s cloudy there. It’s not nice, the sun isn’t shining. The thing that I miss the most when I’m there, is the sun, definitely!
What are your hobbies, when you have time off?
You know what, I was teaching last year, so I didn’t really do anything else, I taught and I trained, that was my life. There was no time for hobbies.
But nowadays, I will go watch a movie, or I’ve got a set of golf clubs… I haven’t played yet, but maybe I’ll go to a driving range one day now.
What has been your most memorable international visit?
Last year I went to Germany, and at the one meeting, I met the men’s record holder, Juergen Schultz, and we sort-off made friends, and I never though that I would see the man in person. That was really, really nice for me!
Tell us the funniest thing that’s happened to you in a competition:
I’ve thought about this question a lot, the one day we had a league meeting in Pretoria, and I don’t know what I did, but I turned, and I found myself lying flat on my face, my foot must have caught the ring, and I didn’t fall on my side, it was just like ‘doef’, flat on my face. I was so embarrassed! At a later stage I just laughed at myself, but I couldn’t do that to myself again.
Did many people see, or did you manage to keep it private?
It was a meeting (laughs), and there were a few people that saw me (laughs).
February’s theme is Love: Is there someone special in your life?
I’ve had a very busy life last year, I’ve got a special friend yes, but it’s not my boyfriend or anything. It’s just a guy that I like to talk to, and like to go visit; he’s in Cape Town. But it’s just a friend, I’ll phone him, and he’ll phone me.
You won gold for South Africa in discus at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia, did you expect to do that well?
Uhm, I wanted to do it, but the New Zealand girl was ranked top-10 for the last I don’t know how many years, and she’s very strong, she throws 65’s (metres) with a smile, so I always said I could beat her if she’s got a bad day, and I’ve got a good day.
And luckily, that day, it just worked like that. That’s why, after my throw, I looked up into the heavens, and said, ‘Thank God’, because without his help, I couldn’t do it. I wanted to win, but I knew it would be a battle for me.
Do you think you can now face her on even par, and beat her again?
If we’re both in top form, the form I’m in now, I will be able to take her on, yes, I just need to keep my head together (laughs).
Sometime, there’s something that goes wrong, but I’ve beaten her once, maybe I can beat her again, yes!
What is it about sport that keeps you coming back for more?
You know, I’m a very busy person, I like moving, I like doing stuff, and if I’m not training, I get frustrated. So I always view my sport as a gift from God, that he gave me, and what I do with it, my training, my coaching, what I give the athletes, it’s some stuff that I can give back to him, and say thanks for all the things you do for me.
I just love it, I love playing, I love training, I love gymming, if I don’t love it anymore, I’ll stop. But at this stage, it’s just great!
How do you keep fit?
Usually we jog, like I said, I’m a train-a-holic, we jog, we train, we throw, this week I threw 300 throws… It keeps you busy, but it’s not keeping you fit. So I take a 20 minute jog at the end of the day, just to keep the fat down.
Do you follow a diet too?
I’ve got a diet that I sometimes follow, but if you train a lot, it’s not really necessary to really stick to it, because you lose weight continuously if you train.
What is the one piece of advice that you’ve been most fortunate to hear?
I saw an Adidas slogan that said: “Impossible is Nothing”. That just told me that I always used to think that to throw 70 metres is impossible, and the other day I threw a 66 without any wind, no technique, and Impossible is Nothing if you really put your heart to something. Nothing is impossible, you can do it!
What would you say to someone who hopes to follow in your footsteps?
I always tell my athletes that it’s always too early to stop trying, the more you try, the better you’ll be. And, if you have a dream, you must keep your focus on that dream. There are people that will try to distract you from it, but if you are focussed on your dream, you will look past that distraction, and you will achieve your goals.
Do you have a sponsor?
My psychologist and I are arranging something with a sponsor now, but it’s not official yet. Unfortunately I can’t give you any information on that yet.
Is it difficult to find a sponsor in your profession?
It is very difficult, especially if you’re not a runner, the sponsors feel they don’t get the coverage they need, and it’s very, very difficult. I’m South African champ for six, seven years now, and we struggle to get sponsors.
Is women’s sport improving in South Africa?
I think for women in sport, yes, the programmes they’ve got about women in sport now. Earlier days, you didn’t really hear about a women’s cricket team, or a women’s rugby team, I really think, slowly but surely, it is improving, yes.
Should women have a place in sport?
OK, I don’t have a boyfriend yet, but there’s not many things that I can’t do, that a man can do. I don’t wait for men to do some stuff for me, whether it’s repairing the lawnmower, or whatever, if I can do it, I do it.
I will never say there’s no place for women in sport, because women have the same rights that any other people on this earth have.
What is the one thing all women need to focus on in South Africa?
I will say, if you can do something, not only in sport, if you can do something good, don’t wait for somebody else to do it for you, because ‘Sorry, I’m a woman, not my kind of work. I’m there to be in the kitchen, and you are there in the garden, repairing the tools or whatever.’
If you can do something, do it, because I believe you must be very independent. I like to be independent. I do whatever I do, whenever I want to. That makes you a much stronger person, if you know you don’t have to sit and wait for anyone else to help you.
You participated in the first Yellow Pages-sponsored event last weekend, what was your performance like?
I think Yellow Pages is really trying to pick up athletics, and I’m very glad that Athletics has as sponsor now again, the more money there is, that is how it works, the better you try to perform.
I got lucky to qualify for the World Championships in Lusaka with my first throw, this is the first time I’ve got it at the first meeting. I just had a very great night. I threw three throws over the A-qualifying, and I was the only athlete that qualified that night for the World Champs, A-standard.
We’ve read it was your intention to qualify at this Yellow Pages event, to qualify for Lusaka, having done that, how do you now approach the remaining meets, which are scheduled for the next few months?
The next meeting I’m going to do is Port Elizabeth, but I’m training very hard these next two weeks. So I don’t really mind what’s happening there, whether I do good or bad.
I would like to throw a 60 again, just to stay above the 60 mark, and then Stellenbosch, I’d like to end the season with a 64, with a new SA record.
(0 rating, 0 votes, rated)
Loading...
