As the media have been reporting, Oscar Pistorius – a fellow Nike South Africa athlete – was rushed into hospital this weekend after a boating accident. It seems that he sustained minor injuries to his face and according to his doctor will be discharged soon- shu.

From our side, Oscar, you are in our thoughts and we wish you a speedy recovery!

Good luck and stay strong.

I’m the youngest of three very different girls. Which basically means I spent my childhood  trying to convince my sisters I wasn’t adopted, as they’d told me. We had very different interests until high school, when I signed up for hockey. And…

I was terrible. I played like a one-legged, blind possum. On Valium. Needless to say, I returned home with a bruised knee (and ego) expecting the sisters to taunt me. But they didn’t. In fact, one took me outside, wiped my tears, created a home-made obstacle course and taught me every trick she knew. She refused to stop until I felt confident. Even though I was huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf, I was happy. And not because I was suddenly hitting balls. Because I suddenly realised my sister had my back.

That sport-filled day taught me I could do anything, with the right support. I never did become a hockey star, but I did continue playing. And my sister continued to stand on the sidelines cheering like an over-enthusiastic soccer-mom. Now, if only she’d admit I’m not adopted…

If I had to tell you three things nobody knows about me (or, at least, they didn’t until now) I’d say I’m convinced I’m allergic to Pronutro, I wish I’d never given up Ballet and I have a secret embarrassing crush on Jack Black. At the moment, I’m very into Bikram yoga. In fact, I have a class in two hours, so I’m off to gulp down some water and get ready. And I’ll be sure to let you know all the latest yoga news soon.

My love for water sport started before I even knew how to swim, but my career in sport took off when I was 12 years old, with my debut as a South African junior swimmer. From that point onwards my passion for this sport has continued to grow. Nine years down the line and I am still a South African athlete, with the only difference being my move from swimmer to lifesaver. Changing my discipline a few years back has not changed the love and passion that I initially felt for sport, if anything it has only made it stronger.

I have been so lucky to represent South Africa since the age of 12 and for all the opportunities this has given me. I could fill a book with all the stories and memories that I have collected throughout the years! I have been able to travel all over the world (which I might not otherwise have done), I constantly meet new friends and I have created enough memories to last me a lifetime (not that I see it ending anytime soon!). I am so glad that I am where I am today and value every step that helped me get here-I wouldn’t change anything in my life!

Being an athlete, training comes naturally! People always ask me how I keep it up, and although I don’t have a clear cut answer I try explain how it makes me feel… I never would have thought that diving into the water, feeling it against my every pore, and being able to glide, move and cut through it, would be such an empowering feeling! I love training and this along with the rare but special feeling that being an athlete brings - feeling like I can conquer the world - helps get me through all the rest!

I am currently in my final year at UCT, studying Occupational Therapy. I really love working with people and helping them change their lives for the better, so studying in this field was a sure bet for me. I want to work with children, and help them so that they might have the same opportunities I have had. If anything, varsity has helped me become a pro at time management! Although it takes a bit of compromise from each side, I somehow manage to fit everything I need to into each day.

My family and friends are true gifts in my life. They put up with so much and are always there, supporting and encouraging me when the going gets tough! Having people I can rely on and trust makes the long road ahead much easier to travel and the journey that much more worthwhile!

I try to surround myself with activities that I enjoy because that’s what makes life worth it! I believe that nothing can be considered hard work if you love doing it, and I really love what I do! My studies, sport and personal life are all important to me, and I love them all too much to drop one for the other, so making time and balancing my life is just something I see as normal.

Never give up on your dreams and always remember that each day is a gift that needs to be lived!

Wishing you all a strong day.
Love, Jade.

I must say I’m very excited to see what this year has in store for me. I’m feeling rather positive even though I know there is a lot of hard work ahead! I’m tackling my third year at varsity this year and trying to balance college, a career and Count of Eight Entertainment may be a bit of a challenge. But, as always, I’m up for it! 2008 was a difficult year for me and I am happy to be moving on to bigger and better things.

My advice to you for 2009 is to never give up and not to underestimate the power of simple perseverance. Don’t allow anyone or anything to make you feel like you’re not worthy of aiming, and reaching for, your highest ideals. Because you are!

Have a great year ahead and may it be filled with health and happiness, and lots of dancing!

After playing half a season of hockey in the Netherlands I was really looking forward to returning home for the festive season - happy to leave behind the snow and so glad to see the sun.  While I was in Holland I would dream about the days that I would spend going for morning runs on the beachfront in Durban and taking advantage of the swimming weather, knowing that a new training program would soon appear in my inbox.

The dream seemed so good, but reality struck the first morning when I had to drag myself out of bed. All I wanted to do was to lie in and enjoy the luxuries of being on holiday. Fortunately, having a running partner made it easier as I knew that I could not let him down. Also knowing that the heat would only get worse the later I left it made me more determined to get the morning runs out of the way for the day.

Dreaming is always easy, but doing it sometimes becomes problematic as we find it effortless to make excuses to avoid the hard work. However, once we actually just do it that feeling of accomplishment makes the holiday so much sweeter.

I am glad that the toughest part of my training schedule is over. It was not tough physically but rather mentally. Knowing that my family was sleeping in, while I sneaked out of the house in the morning to run made it tough, but I did it. I am also grateful that I had a training partner to keep me motivated throughout the festive season. Now I am ready for 2009 and ready to just do it!