Just what the doctor ordered
Tim Noakes-inspired Phathokuhle Zondi comes full circle to head Sports Science Institute SA
WHEN Phathokuhle Zondi was a teenager she heard sports scientist Tim Noakes on the radio and was motivated to pursue sports medicine as a career.
Now Zondi is a sports physician with an MBA who has worked as the chief medical officer for Team SA at the 2014 Commonwealth Games; the team doctor at 2012 London Olympics; a medical officer at 2010 Fifa World Cup; and a medical consultant to the SA Rugby Union.
On Monday she walked into the Sports Science Institute of SA in Newlands, founded by Noakes and former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis, as its new managing director.
Zondi said: “I feel like I have done a fantastic full circle, landing up at the place of the person who inspired my whole career. I am passionate about sports and the human body and I am fortunate to have found a career that combines both passions.”
At school she played netball at provincial level for KwaZulu-Natal and she played for the Western Cape while studying medicine at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
She said: “Running is my default sport. My dad did the Comrades and I pack running shoes wherever I go. I have recently taken up triathlon.
“I did the half Iron Man and enjoyed it, and hope to do the full Iron Man in the future. Even in high school I played anything, like softball, and I did synchronised swimming.” CHANGE OF GUARD: Dr Phathokuhle Zondi takes over from former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis to head the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town
As a student she didn’t expect immersion into rugby and soccer.
“Rugby found me rather than the other way round,” she said.
When she managed a sports medicine practice at the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria, she was approached to be the team doctor for the Blue Bulls. Her husband encouraged her to get involved since he was a huge rugby fan.
Zondi said: “I like the camaraderie of team sports, what individual talent can do for a bigger purpose and I get to work with different players and dynamics. You get an opportunity to influence players and they influence you. Everything about the environment speaks to the person I am.”
She went on to be the sports physician for teams like the Baby Boks, was tournament team physician for the Dubai Sevens Series from 2013 and is a senior medical educator for World Rugby. But Zondi has also extended her expertise to soccer and women’s sport, working for the SA Football Association as team doctor for teams like Bantwana and Basetsana.
Zondi’s experience in performance enhancement and medical management, including currently as president for the SA Sports Medicine Association, will prove invaluable as she takes over from Du Plessis.
He said: “I am confident that in Phatho we have been fortunate to find the right person at the absolutely right time to take the ideals, values and work of the Sports Science Institute into the future.
“I believe the vision we have upheld over the last 21 years, that through sport and wellness we can contribute to the wellbeing of our society, will be in safe hands.”
Zondi is excited and humble about her role and the institute’s potential to boost amateur and professional sport in SA, particularly now that the institute and UCT’s Division of Exercise
Rugby found me rather than the other way round In the future we will have even more to offer our athletes
Science and Sports Medicine have forged a closer partnership.
“The sports science and medicine industry in South Africa is in a very exciting space right now. The stronger each institution, the stronger our sporting outlook as a nation. In the future we will have even more to offer our athletes and that bodes well for our country,” she said.
Zondi will still support South African teams and in September she will be chief medical officer for Team SA at the Rio Paralympics.
“I enjoy the diversity of different sporting codes and the relationship with the players and coaches in this high-performance space,” she said.
And outside of work and sport, her close relationship with her 14-monthold daughter and “wonderful husband” keep her invigorated.