'I have been my own toughest opponent': Whitebooi ahead of African Games

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa will be sending a squad of 216 athletes and 45 officials to raise the flag high at the 13th edition of the African Games to be held in Accra, Ghana from 8-23 March.

South African judoka Michaela Geronay Whitebooi is one of the athletes who will be representing the country.

“I am truly honoured to be a part of the African Games team as I get to represent my country, once again. The games are always a positive competitive environment with all the different supporting codes supporting each other said,” said a thrilled Whitebooi.

At the last African Games held in Rabat, Morocco, in 2019, South Africa brought home 86 medals (36 Gold, 26 Silver and 24 Bronze) across 11 different sporting codes, finishing 4th on the medals table.

“I know this will sound as a cliché, but I have been my own toughest opponent. The only thing stopping me from winning the medals I want is myself. Yes, there are many tough competitors in my weight category, and I cannot place one of them as the top one.”

South Africa will be represented across 17 different sporting codes at the African Games including, for the first time at a multi-code Games, Arm Wrestling and Cricket. Eight of these sporting codes (Athletics, Badminton, Cycling, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Triathlon and Wrestling) are Paris 2024 Olympics qualification events.

“I would like to see more girls take up judo as a sport. Judo teaches you many valuable morals when you train that you can use in life outside of the sport. I would like to see more endorsements towards the sport so that it can grow and more international results can blossom from it.”

Opening up to Eyewitness News, the athlete from Booysens Park in Gqeberha says she has been receiving tremendous support from the judo community in South Africa and her community back home throughout her career.

“My family and friends are also very supportive of my dream. Right now I am running a funding campaign to support my competitions until the Olympic Games. They can support me by donating to the fund or even sharing the link on their social media platforms.”

The athlete began her Judo journey with the Booysens Park Judo Club at the tender age of 10. Her talent would see her moving to attend Tuks Sport High School in 2010.

“There are many lessons I learnt, especially from my losses and failures along the way. But, the most important lesson is don't be so hard on yourself, this is a journey and today might not be good, tomorrow may also be a bit bad, but your day of victory will come. You just have to believe in yourself and keep pushing no matter hard difficult it may seem.”

Whitebooi tells Eyewitness News that her focus is to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games 2024, as she wants to improve on her Tokyo Olympic Games performance.

“Mental training is very important. I do meditation and imagery to help me prepare for competitions. Self-talk is always important as it helps to boost your confidence for the competition.”

Whitebooi won silver in her first competition in 2007 at the SA Championships. In April 2019, the judoka won gold at the 40th African Judo Championship, becoming the first South African woman to win Judo Gold at the Champs in 20 years.

She claimed a gold medal in the 48kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the 2022 Senior African Judo Championships.