South African Sports Legacies

By Tarryn Havenga

In historical terms, a legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time to another period of time. It can either be positive or negative. Legacies are, more or less, what we remember about a person or a country. A legacy is something you leave behind that will benefit others. Perhaps even those generations still to come.

What an individual or a country does today might, in the future, be regarded as being important enough to be thought of as a legacy from the 21st Century. Outstanding examples of sport legacies are Penny Heyns and Oscar Pistorius

Both individuals demonstrate how they unleash their full potential. They share the philosophy of ‘run your own race’. Penny and Oscar bring a dynamic, powerful message of hope and inspiration to all of us. These messages empower people to take complete control of their lives, realize their potential and fulfil their destiny.

Penny Heyns, also known as ‘the golden girl’ of South African sports in the 1990's, is a household name in South Africa. She is regarded as one of the greatest female breaststroke swimmers ever. Penny established herself as the world’s greatest female breaststroker of the 20th Century when she won both the 100m and 200m breaststroke events in Atlanta, 1996. She remains the only female Olympian to do so. She won bronze in Sydney, 2000 and has broken a total of 14 individual world records during her swimming career.

Her experiences of training and competing internationally have given her supreme insights into what it takes to get to the top, and more importantly, how to stay there. Penny retired from competitive swimming in 2001. She is now an athlete's commission member of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), a businesswoman, a motivational and public speaker and a television presenter.

Oscar Pistorius, South Africa’s latest laureate, has been awarded the 2012 Laureus world sports player with a disability. Oscar is the first amputee sprinter; he is a gold medallist, Paralympic champion and blade runner.

We all know that swimming and running are individual and often very lonely sports. They are much like life. They require certain vital characteristics in order to attain success:  sacrifice, determination, perseverance, dedication and single-minded focus. This is what it takes to make it to the top of one of the world’s toughest sporting disciplines and stay there.

The same principles relate and apply to our lives in general. I trust that this will inspire you to believe in your own potential, and inspire you to turn disappointment into victory.

What legacy do you want to leave behind? This may be regarded as being important enough to be thought of as a legacy from the 21st Century. Most importantly, live your life in the pursuit of personal excellence.