It’s all systems go for Team SA as they prepare for Thursday’s opening ceremony of the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
“We have settled in great. The city itself is very much still in lockdown, but we’ve already made plenty of friends in the dining halls and within the facilities,” said Team SA chef de mission Kim Pople.
“At the moment we have tenpin bowling, archery, power lifting and aero sports with us and canoeing and gymnastics will be the next to arrive. Our medical team is in place and we can’t wait for the opening ceremony. The vibe is awesome and we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against the rest of the countries participating,” she added.
A total of 23 athletes across nine different sports are representing Team SA at the Games from 7-17 July.
The World Games are held every four years between Olympics and this will be Team SA’s fifth appearance at these Games. In 2005, they won five medals, in 2009 there were three medals, in 2013 four and in 2017 there was one medal. The Birmingham Games were postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The full list of Team SA athletes is:
AERO SPORT
Men: Chris Teague
ARCHERY
Men: Christian de Klerk, Folkers Herholdt
Women: Gerda Roux, Jeanine van Kradenburg
CANOEING
Men: Andrew Birkett
Women: Bridgitte Hartley
DUATHLON
Men: Jonathan Benjamin, Dylan Kruger
Women: Natalie Sterk
GYMNASTICS
Women: Shannon Gardiner, Tvetina Aleksandrova
POWERLIFTING
Men: Henk de Wet
Women: Christi de Jager
SPORT CLIMBING
Men: Christopher Cosser
Women: Mel Janse van Rensburg, Lauren Mukheiber
TENPIN BOWLING
Men: Jiveshkar Sewchuran, Cherng Ju, Stephen Ekermans
Women: Gitabalie Soorajla, Ursula Ekermans
WATER SKIING
Men: Travis Fisher