On Heritage Day, gsport asked women from across its community what heritage means to them. The answers came from athletes, broadcasters, a camera operator, a media practitioner and gsport Award winners, and almost every one of them began in the same place: with the women who came before.
For Tswelopele Mohapi, a Woman in PR and Sponsorship finalist at the 21st gsport Awards, heritage has two faces, those of her mother and her grandmother.
“For me, being a Sotho woman is deeply connected to my mom and my granny. They are my heritage. So much of who I am, the values I carry, the way I love and the strength I have, comes from the women who came before me. They taught me about where I come from and gave me a sense of pride in being a Sotho woman,” said Mohapi.
She sees heritage as something living, passed from hand to hand rather than kept on a shelf.
“To me, heritage is more than traditions or where you come from. It is the people who shape you, the stories they leave with you and the parts of them that you carry forward. My mom and granny are a huge part of that, and I hope to carry their legacy with me in everything I do.”
Tswelopele Mohapi
That idea of carrying something forward runs through every contribution gsport received this year. Akhona Ngcobondwana, crowned Telkom Woman of the Year at the 2025 gsport Awards for her work at Ellis Park and her contribution to women’s rugby, starts with what binds South Africans together before turning to her own Xhosa identity.
“It is in our diversity where we become one, where we become rooted in Ubuntu and the essence of what it means to be who we are. I am Xhosa, and that reminds me I am part of something bigger with all the tribes within the amaXhosa, I am reminded I am a drop in the ocean that carries resilience, strength and grace. It means having the responsibility to preserve and pass down not just traditions and values but the love and gentleness that comes with it,” said Ngcobondwana.
Responsibility is a word that returns again and again. For Isabel Lindiwe Mchunu of Richards Bay, whose sporting life spans football, refereeing and bodybuilding, heritage travels in the kit bag.
“My heritage is rooted in my Zulu culture, my family, my community and the values I was raised with: Ubuntu, resilience, respect, discipline and perseverance. To me, Heritage Day is a reminder of where I come from and the people and traditions that shaped me,” said Mchunu.
“As a South African athlete representing my country on the international stage, I carry my heritage with me wherever I go. It reminds me that when I compete, I am not only representing myself, but also my community, my province and the country that made me who I am.”
Isabel Lindiwe Mchunu
She hopes her story reaches the next generation.
“I am proud of where I come from, and I want my journey to inspire young girls to embrace their identity, believe in themselves and proudly take their heritage with them wherever their dreams take them.”
Paris-Gail Isaacs knows that journey well. The Southern Gauteng hockey captain was named Player of the Tournament as her side won the 2026 SA Hockey IPT in May, and received a Ministerial Recognition of Excellence at the 21st gsport Awards in August.
“My heritage is a huge part of who I am. Being a young South African woman has taught me to value resilience, community, family and the importance of knowing where you come from. And I will carry the stories, sacrifices and values of those who came before me,” said Isaacs.
“My heritage reminds me that I’m part of something bigger than myself, and it gives me a sense of identity and purpose. No matter where I go in the world, I will always carry South Africa with me.”
For Jana Swart, goal attack for the Northern Cape Diamonds in the Telkom Netball League, heritage has an address. She comes from Swellendam, a small Afrikaans farming community in the Western Cape, where her family has farmed and gone to school for generations.
“My family and I have been raised there, farmed and gone to Swellendam High School for generations,” said Swart.
“My heritage means the world to me. It shaped me into the person and netball player I am today. Even though I am from a small community, my heritage is big, something I am proud to be part of and my daily motivation.”
Jana Swart
Hlobisile Khumalo spends her working life behind the camera. The founder of Necco Production made history as the first woman to travel with the Proteas Women as a camera operator, and in August the Woman in Television finalist received the Public Choice Award at the 21st gsport Awards. On Heritage Day, she turned the lens on her own story.
“I am Zulu. Heritage is more than just a holiday in the South African calendar. It’s a reminder to celebrate us, in our culture, uphold or share the traditions of our families and our tribes. It’s about us remembering who we are and what we stand for beyond Ubuntu,” said Khumalo.
Mihlali Gqogqonyeka, a youth television presenter turned media officer with the UWC women’s football team, finds heritage in the everyday.
“For me, heritage is found in the stories we grow up hearing, the language we speak, the people who raised us, the places that feel like home and even the little things we sometimes take for granted. It is the part of you that travels with you, even when you are far away from home,” said Gqogqonyeka.
“My heritage reminds me that before I became who I am today, I was part of a story that had already begun. I carry the strength, sacrifices, values and dreams of those who came before me, while trying to leave something meaningful behind for those who will come after me.”
Mihlali Gqogqonyeka
Her words connect with the Heritage Day conversations gsport has carried in earlier years. In 2021, gsport spoke to Keatlegile Mthimunye, then a Grade 10 learner from Biesiesvlei in Lichtenburg, who had played morabaraba since the age of six and dreamed of one day running a non-profit organisation to teach the game to young people. A year later, diketo technical official Tshegofatso Mosetlhe used gsport’s platform to call for indigenous games to have an active federation of their own.
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Five years on, the voices have changed but the message has not. Heritage, for South African women in sport, is more than a date on the calendar. It is the grandmother in Mohapi’s story, the farm in Swart’s and the ocean in Ngcobondwana’s. It is the young girls Mchunu hopes will follow her, and the story Gqogqonyeka says had already begun before she did.
Each of these women carries it onto the field, into the studio and behind the camera, and each of them is passing it on.
Main Photo Caption: Women from across the gsport community, among them 2025 Telkom Woman of the Year Akhona Ngcobondwana (pictured), 21st gsport Awards Public Choice recipient Hlobisile Khumalo and SA Hockey IPT 2026 Player of the Tournament Paris-Gail Isaacs, reflect on the mothers, grandmothers, languages and home towns that shaped them, as South Africa marks Heritage Day on Thursday, 24 September 2026. All Photos: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: Northern Cape Diamonds goal attack Jana Swart draws daily motivation from Swellendam, the farming town where her family has lived for generations.
Photo 3 Caption: Richards Bay’s Isabel Lindiwe Mchunu, whose sport spans football, refereeing and bodybuilding, carries her Zulu heritage wherever she competes.
Photo 4 Caption: Tswelopele Mohapi, a Woman in PR and Sponsorship finalist at the 21st gsport Awards, credits her mother and grandmother with her Sotho heritage.
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