Momentum ambassador, Ministerial recipient and Woman of the Year at the gsport Awards, Saray Khumalo, has reached incredible heights in her career, but her journey to the top has seen her endure many difficulties.
Khumalo holds the titles of being the first African woman to summit Mount Everest and recently the South Pole.
Speaking to gsport Editor, Kass Naidoo, Khumalo reflects on her milestones and points out that her success would not have been possible with the support that she has received, especially with the backing from Momentum.
“No one does it on their own. I’ve had a lot of support from Momentum sponsoring me, Multiply pushing me on, people that I climb with, my family being supportive. It might be a solo sport but there’s a lot of background and partnerships that make it possible.”
“2019 was made possible because of all the challenges that I had in previous years.” – Explorer extraordinaire, Saray Khumalo.
Being the first African woman to summit both Mount Everest and the South Pole, Khumalo says that her drive comes from her initiative Summits with a Purpose that aims to create awareness for the need of literacy.
“I started with Summits with a Purpose and kind of found a way to use my climbing to make a difference through education and that keeps me going.”
Summiting Mount Everest was not an easy feat as she reveals that it took her four tries to finally find success as she did not give up along the way.
“I did it four times,” she laughed.
“How I look at it is every time I went and it didn’t work out, I learnt something from it that I used and 2019 was made possible because of all the challenges that I had in previous years.”
With a lot of highs and lows and having to abort her expedition after conquering the South Pole on the 1st of January 2020 due to injury, Khumalo points out that with experience she has managed to maturely deal with challenges.
“I’ve come to quickly recover from any challenges.
“I go back and okay, it didn’t happen but 50 percent of that was done so let me celebrate it and continue because I live to climb another day.”
“It has opened up a lot of doors that would have otherwise not have opened.” – Khumalo speaks on being honoured at the 2019 Momentum gsport Awards.
Being an ambassador for a brand like Momentum that has been actively showing their support for South African women’s sport, Khumalo says that she is privileged to be part of the team.
“It is special. They understand my journey.
“They have taken time to understand what I am doing; they are invested in it as much as I am, and they are committed to changing the world with me.
“I am so privileged not only to be an ambassador but to be an employee of Momentum and Multiply.”
With 2019 being a pivotal year in her career, Khumalo was honoured twice at the Momentum gsport Awards and points out that the recognition provided a platform as more people noticed the sport that she’s involved in.
“That was amazing. First of all, it created a lot more visibility in the sport that I am involved in. People sit up and want to know what it is all about.
“It has opened up a lot of doors that would have otherwise not have opened, so I am grateful to you for the initiative and to the institution for making it possible and recognising sports that are niche.”
Khumalo continues as she shares her advice to people who are looking to become explorers. Check out the full interview in the slider above!
Photo 1 Caption: Momentum ambassador, Saray Khumalo, pictured with gsport Editor, Kass Naidoo, at The Zone in Rosebank, Johannesburg on Wednesday, 12 February 2020. Khumalo chats about her journey to success after enduring many difficulties. Photo: gsport
Photo 2 Caption: The two-time Momentum gsport Awards winner, Saray Khumalo, says that the recognition received at the 2019 edition of the awards ceremony opened more doors in her career. Photo: gsport
Photo 3 Caption: Saray Khumalo says she feels honoured to be part of Momentum as they actively show their support for South African women’s sport. Photo: gsport
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