Young CrossFit queen is Africa’s best
"I started CrossFit purely out of curiosity as a friend of mine had started doing it. I also stayed close to LVCC where the original Nelspruit CrossFit box was, so I took my bicycle and rode there to find out more."
Stay humble, stay hungry. With this as her main motivation, Nicola Temperman (17), a Nelspruit CrossFit athlete and matriculant at Hoërskool Nelspruit, exceeded her own expectations when she achieved a spectacular first place in Africa during the recent CrossFit Open in the category for teenage girls aged 16 to 17.
Her absolute determination to push herself to the next level while enduring aching muscles and overcoming out-of-breath desperation, has enabled her to summit Africa’s highest CrossFit peak.
One can clearly see why this tough girl is Africa’s CrossFit queen when she makes light work of bench presses, squats, and dead lifts. She is also 33rd in the world, which is a massive achievement considering thousands of athletes compete across the globe. “I love the pain and exhilaration of a hard workout. It is a killer but it is so worth it in the end. I always feel amazing when completing a 45-minute CrossFit session.”
This is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular fitness experiences and the craze has spread to the Lowveld with men and women from various backgrounds competing to obtain ultimate fitness.
The open is a five-week, five-workout competition held worldwide. Workouts are released online each Thursday, and athletes have until the following Monday to submit their scores.
“I started CrossFit purely out of curiosity as a friend of mine had started doing it. I also stayed close to LVCC where the original Nelspruit CrossFit box was, so I took my bicycle and rode there to find out more,” she spoke about her first encounter with CrossFit in June last year.
Nicola met up with box owner and her current coach, Ruhan Koekemoer, who encouraged her to join and start her first session the next day.
“It was crazy at first but I really enjoyed it and I was hooked. It incorporates a whole bunch of my favourite moves all in one workout and that is why it is so enjoyable,” said Nicola who previously had competed in gymnastics, K-Fit and various sports at school.
According to her, CrossFit also provides her with numerous advantages.
“I am much stronger physically with added confidence in my abilities. It also helps me to concentrate better which affects my schoolwork positively. It might sound strange but I like the physical suffering of a CrossFit session. It takes your body to new levels of achievement and tests your will to be better every time you enter the box.”
One of the tricky parts is that workouts differ each time, making it impossible to prepare for a certain one. At each CrossFit Games event, the athletes engage in a series of challenges unknown to them until right before the competition.
“One of my goals is to compete against the world’s best to challenge myself both mentally and physically as well as meeting the fittest people in the world,” said Nicola, who rates Camile Le Blanc and Julie Foucher as her CrossFit role models.
“Always stay humble and just do it. Support is one of the most important aspects and I am lucky to have Ruhan and the other CrossFit guys who motivate me each time. When I’m done with my workout I start motivating them and it creates a fantastic atmosphere.”
Her coach, Ruhan also contributes massively to her own self-confidence as he gives advice and is someone she can trust.
“We are very proud of Nicola. It is an absolutely amazing achievement. She has so much talent, is very hardworking and is an amazing person,” he stated.
