ONE SIZE (DOESN’T) FIT ALL Athletes across the world, including these UWC alums, have had to find creative ways of staying fit during the pandemic By Melissa Siegelaar
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he COVID-19 pandemic caused sporting events to be cancelled across the world in 2020. But that didn’t stop professional athletes Thembi Kgatlana, Babalwa Latsha and Ashley Blockie Smith from finding creative ways to stay physically and mentally fit. “When the pandemic hit, I was in Europe,” says Kgatlana, an international football player, a member of South Africa’s national women’s team Banyana Banyana, and one of two South African women ever to be awarded African Women Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The forward joined Portugal’s SL Benfica club on 27 January 2020 and helped the club beat Braga 3-1 just five days thereafter. The UWC alumnus soon found her feet, scoring three domestic cup goals. Then, on 13 March, all sport matches were suspended in Portugal due to the spread of the coronavirus. “We had to start training online,” says Kgatlana. The training involved daily runs and completing exercises designed to be done in smaller, indoor spaces such as an apartment. Kgatlana also relied on training apps to further enhance her fitness. “While many people were panicking when we went into lockdown and stopped matches,
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I told myself, ‘We have no idea when this lockdown will stop, so you just need to keep training and keep yourself mentally and physically fit for when everything returns to normal.’” Benfica players were also required to restrict their outdoor movements. “It was tough at first because it’s not something I was used to. Having to create space in your home to exercise daily also required some creativity.” In July, Kgatlana moved to Spanish Primera Division side
SD Eibar, where she now trains in-person with her team under strict COVID-19 safety protocols. The team has started to play matches again, without spectators. “We’ve lived with this virus for a year now, so it’s important to find a way to return to living our lives as normally as we possibly can. I’ve done that by challenging myself mentally to do new things. I take each day as it comes and I’ve accepted that the pandemic is continuously changing how we live.”
