Catherine the Great on rise
Super swimmer’s sporting pedigree
YOUNG up-and-coming swimming talent Catherine Eland has again enjoyed a fantastic year as her star continues to rise.
The Stirling Primary pupil and Harlequins Aquatics swimmer was again in a record-breaking mood as she rewrote the Border record books throughout the year.
It is no surprise that she excels as she comes from a long and impressive sporting pedigree that stretches throughout her family tree.
Her father, Greg Eland, was an excellent soccer player, playing provincially for many years.
“Former SA cricketer Jimmy Cook was their U13 Southern Transvaal coach when they won nationals beating Northern Transvaal captained by Mark Fish,” explained Dale Eland, Greg’s wife and Catherine’s mother.
An U14 Wits team then went on a soccer tour and camp in Austria, Switzerland and Germany where he played and won against European teams.
Greg was also a provincial athlete in the 800m event. However, at the U13 national championships, he had to run the 1 200m as there was no 800m event, but he still managed a second finish.
At that same championship, a sprinter was injured and Greg was asked to replace him in the 4x100m relay event.
Coincidentally he was passed the baton by Dale, whom he married 13 years later.
Music also seems to run in the family with Greg playing the tenor horn in the Salvation Army band, and he remembers playing at many shopping centres over the Christmas holidays.
According to him his grandfather was a highly talented musician, who could listen to a piece of music and play it by ear, though he had no formal training and could not read a note.
Greg’s mom, Catherine’s grandmother Beryl, was a solo singer and Greg’s dad played the flugal horn in the Salvation Army band.
“All the Eland kids, particularly Alexander, seem to have inherited these musical talents,” said Dale.
It is interesting to note how sport helped save Greg’s great-grandfather Edward Francis, who was in the Navy during WWI.
Their ship, the HMS Formidable, was torpedoed and sank in the English Channel, but due to him being such a strong swimmer, he stayed afloat in the water for eight hours before rescue boats arrived.
The ordeal was eventually turned into a book: Before the Bells Have Faded: The sinking of HMS Formidable January 1, 1915.
As for Catherine's mom, Dale, she was a sprinter, winning the SA Junior Championship titles for hurdles, 100m and 200m events, while she broke the SA record for 150m and 70m hurdle events in her U13 year. Dale captained the Transvaal athletics team in her matric year.
At university her training group included Springbok athlete Karen Botha, Naas Botha’s wife.
Dale was a provincial hockey player at school and university, where she made both indoor and outdoor Northern Transvaal U21 hockey teams.
Catherine’s uncle, Dale’s brother Craig du Plessis, was a top sportsman, excelling particularly at hockey. He was selected to represent both Western Transvaal and Country districts teams in 1998 and was selected for the SA Country Districts team in 1999.
He also ran the 300m hurdles at provincial level.
Catherine’s grandfather, Brian du Plessis was multitalented, making the Transvaal athletics team of 1958-59 and the Transvaal rugby team in 1959.
“Their school matric rugby team played in a tournament against Selborne, Queen’s and Dale in 1959,” noted Dale.
Athletics gave him the opportunity to win a scholarship at Oklahoma University, running the 440 yards.
In addition, Brian was a bronze medallist in the SA ballroom championship with his sister Brenda.
Brian’s mother, Kati (Catherine) lived to an amazing 103 years old.
At the venerable age of 95 she participated in the World Champs walking eventwhere she broke the Australian record.
“She received letters from the Queen, the Australian Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition party for her 100th birthday,” said Dale of her grandmother.
Kati was from the Eastern Cape, born in Dordrecht, where she and her brother, boxing legend and trainer Dolf du Plessis, grew up.
Dolf had a successful boxing career in the 1920s and then trained many provincial and national champions.
“Brian recalled that at one boxing tournament his uncle Dolf saw him in the boxing ring about to face one of Dolf’s archrivals’ nephews and decided to coach Brian through the fight himself,” explained Dale.
“The uncles almost got into the ring themselves to settle it, especially when it ended in a draw.”
Kati and Dolf’s cousin was the mother of the famous South African Bekkers – five siblings became Springboks, three rugby players, one boxer and the only daughter, a Springbok athlete.
Catherine’s grandmother, Jeri du Plessis was a top swimmer and hockey player.
“She matriculated at 16 and was tipped to be a Springbok hockey player but she finished school and went nursing, exchanging her sporting legacy for caring for the sick and vulnerable,” explained Dale.
Jeri and Brian started a Development Organisation, Siyakholwa, which has been awarded the best Community Programme in the Country for the past two years at the Komoso Awards.
They even hosted President Jacob Zuma and 3 500 guests at their site in October 2014.
Jeri’s great-uncle “Billie” Legg was an Olympic 100m finalist at the 1928 Summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
With that imposing family history it would be understandable for one to be a bit nervous, but Catherine has made a great start.
“Catherine is one of the most talented swimmers I have ever had the pleasure of coaching,” said her coach Vionne Skinner. “I have been in this game for 24 years and I have never had a swimmer that can pull it out of the bag like Catherine.”
Catherine now holds six U9 border records, eight U10 Border records and two Eastern Province allcomer records.
Catherine is also an impressive dancer, achieving 96% in her RAD performance award exam and 89% for her graded exam.
She also ran for Border in the 100m sprint and 70m hurdle event.
Catherine plays hockey as well as music, winning a trophy for her piano duet at the East London Eisteddfodd in 2014.
For a girl who is just 11 years old, the sky looks like the limit.