Gézelle Magerman is going for Gold

Golden girl Gézelle Magerman was too excited to sleep after winning a medal at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China, and described her victory as the best moment of her life.

Gézelle was born in the Boland town of Darling. Her family moved to Vredenburg after pre -primary school. She attended primary school there and went Vredenburg High before moving to Rochelle Girls High school in Paarl. She started with athletics in Primary school, “Since day one I loved running because I loved the feeling. I started to balance school and athletics basically from a young stage in my life. So it’s not difficult for me to adapt to a new environment.”

Besides athletics she managed to do monkey-nasticks, play tennis, netball and hockey. But netball and athletics were her favourite sports. “High school came and I had to choose between netball and athletics because the seasons clashed when it came to my training times. It was difficult to choose because I loved netball and I managed to be a Western Cape player at SA schools and netball player of the match at a tournament where all the girls schools in SA competed. I made the choice in grade 11 to no longer proceed with my netball career and start focusing on athletics, which was a GREAT choice. One of the few I made as a teen, she laughs.

Gézelle says she sees growth in women’s athletics in South Africa and is inspired when young and upcoming athletes tdo well. She adds, “When you want to become a professional athlete you must be dedicated, determined, persevere and strong will to succeed because it’s a world filled with people wanting to become someone and make something of their lives. You have to work hard for what you want and stay focused, even when it gets tough. I wish I knew how to manage failure and emotional stress though.”

Her training routine in season is from Monday to Saturday.
“Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my toughest sessions. I call them lactic sessions .We have recovery every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays.”

Off season
“I train from Mondays to Saturday. This time my lactic sessions are on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Recovery sessions are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”

Nutrition
“There’s not really a difference in my eating pattern. Well cheating weekends remain cheating weekends. I personally think athletes just eat and train, well we try to eat healthy.”

What would still like to achieve in your career?
“I would like to make the team for the Olympics. Run 53 seconds in the 400m hurdles and get a medal.” In her off time when she is not competing she likes to go dancing, watching series, movies and to eat out with friends.