Bright future predicted for young gymnast
Chetty has her heart set on becoming an Olympic star. A Grade 2 pupil at Sagewood Preparatory School in Midrand, Gauteng, the eight-year-old has fallen in love with gymnastics.
This month, the level-three gymnast competed in the Central Gauteng Gymnastics Association competition in Kempton Park and finished second. It earned her junior regional colours and she will now compete in the zone championships in Kempton Park on August 30.
“I became interested in gymnastics when I was only four years old. I would hang on to everything, roll about and do cartwheels around the house.
“When I was five, my parents took me to the Johannesburg Gymnastic Centre. I was so impressed with what the senior girls could do and wanted to learn more,” she said.
Hope draws her inspiration from South African Olympic gymnast Kirsten Beckett and Jamaica’s world-record sprinter, Usain Bolt.
“I want to be like the best, so I train twice a week for about three hours. My coach, Ilse Roets, is very motivating and she encourages us to perform at our best.
“This year, I got 20 medals for all the competitions I entered in Gauteng. When I grow up I want to be an acrobatic gymnast and hopefully one day I will represent South Africa at the Olympics.”
Her sister, Jade, 13, is her biggest fan and attends her competitions, screaming the loudest and cheering her on.
When Hope is not doing cartwheels or acrobatics, she enjoys playing hockey, taking part in athletics and doing ballet. She belongs to the Marie Sadie Ballet Academy in Midrand.
Roets, head coach and owner of the Johannesburg Gymnastic Centre, said Chetty was a promising athlete with a bright future.
“If she keeps up at the rate she is going, she will go very far. She has the makings of a champion — she sets goals and she achieves them,” she said. Picture: RAYMOND
PRESTON