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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Sports Science - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University : Port Elizabeth, RSA |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Boxing, mixed martial arts. (barbend.com, 12 Apr 2017) |
| Other sports | She has competed at the CrossFit Games, and has won world championship titles in karate. (barbend.com, 12 Apr 2017) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | "What made me fall in love with the sport was basically when I started travelling. I went overseas and saw other females doing weightlifting. I saw females who had been doing the sport for many years, how well they'd built and kept their feminism. You can actually still be a female and be strong and do the sport of Olympic lifting." |
General Interest | |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Facebook page, 15 Sep 2019) |
| Awards and honours | She was named the 2009 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Sportswoman of the Year. (Athlete, 06 Oct 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Anton Ficzi [personal]; Pieter Pretorius [father] |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She got involved in sport at age eight. She started doing weightlifting as part of her physical education classes at school in 2000, and then began using it to improve her strength for karate. She decided to focus solely on weightlifting at age 16. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2003 |
| Tournament | All Africa Games |
| Location | Abuja, NGR |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Bucharest, ROU |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Her father. (womanonline.co.za, 29 Mar 2013) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Coach |
| Languages | Afrikaans, English |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "A diamond is a piece of coal that was able to do its best under great pressure." (Athlete, 06 Oct 2010) |
International Debut | |
| Competing for | South Africa |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | Her father Pieter Pretorius. (heraldlive.co.za, 18 Aug 2018) |
| Injuries | She ruptured her quadricep tendon while competing at the 2018 World Championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. (heraldlive.co.za, 25 Apr 2019) |
| Famous relatives | Her father Pieter Pretorius was head coach for the South Africa youth weightlifting team at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her sister Mariska Pretorius competed in weightlifting at the 2008 African Championships in Johannesburg, South Africa, while her mother Yvette Pretorius has worked as a referee in the sport. (SportsDeskOnline, 16 Sep 2019; powerfulpretorius.com, 18 Oct 2018; sascoc.co.za, 26 Nov 2009) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Training Regime | In 2019 she began training at the Dynamo Sports Club in Bucharest, Romania. |
General Interest | |
| Other information | BODY IMAGE She believes it is possible to compete in weightlifting at an elite level and be feminine at the same time. "I got teased at school doing what they called then a 'male only' sport. I was both a tomboy and a girly girl. I would want every single barbie there was and loved dressing up my toys and I would as a youngster wear my mom and granny's high heeled shoes around the house with their handbags. I guess you can safely say I am still that person now. I love getting my hair and nails done and love that I can lift big heavy weights and still keep my femininity. I like to look after myself and making sure I feel both strong and beautiful on the platform." (powerfulpretorius.com, 02 Apr 2019) OCCUPATION In 2019 she relocated to Bucharest, Romania, to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games. She continues to coach weightlifting, working with her clients online and remotely. She began coaching while she was still at school, working from her home gym in Framesby, South Africa. "I started coaching as well from a very young age because I wanted others to experience what I did. I wanted others to share my passion and I wanted to carry over the great things I have learnt in this sport to others. It would be a shame if I kept it all to myself and couldn't share the amazing sport and what it has taught me to other passionate athletes." (powerfulpretorius.com, 16 May 2019, 14 Mar 2019) FURTHER EDUCATION She has a master's degree in sports psychology from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She has also studied for a PhD in the same subject at the University of Texas in the United States of America. (barbend.com, 13 Apr 2017) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Partner James de Lacey |