The South African hockey player, Nicole Erasmus (née Walraven) is set to become a fourth generation Olympian when she will be representing the country at the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan later in the year.
Last week, South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) announced that both the national men’s and women’s hockey teams will make a welcome return to the Olympics for the first time since the 2012 Summer Games in London. Despite having qualified for Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the governing body decided not to send the Olympic teams to the games.
Had the hockey’s gone to represent in Brazil five years ago, Erasmus, could then already have become an Olympian as she had made her debut for South Africa on the hockey astros back in 2015.
Erasmus finally gets her opportunity after being named in the national team, and she will be following in the footsteps of her mother, Lynne Walraven (née Tasker), who represented Zimbabwe in swimming during the 1980 Games in Moscow, Russia. Her great-uncle and great-great-uncle also competed in the Summer Games. Her great-great uncle, Frank Rushton, represented the Springboks in hurdles during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, while her great-uncle, Anthony Tasker, was part of the South African rowing team for the 1964 Olympics, which was also in Tokyo.
Ironically, when Erasmus’ mother went to compete, Zimbabwe won only one medal, and that was gold in the women’s hockey.
“When we were told who made it into the team of 16 going to the Olympics, I firstly went into a state of shock, at a stage I didn’t even know if my heart was beating anymore. Then I went through a phase of disbelief – did this just happen? When I climbed into my car, I just broke down. I think what got to me was the fact that now I get to go to Tokyo and represent South Africa at the Olympic Games. I get to be the fourth generation in my family to go – that is when it hit me. I am so blessed to be able to add my name to the family tree of Olympians.”
Walraven in her turn told Bloemfontein Courant that the achievement of her daughter is just rewards for the years of blood, sweat and tears.
“To say that I am proud of Nicole’s achievement in being selected for the SA Women’s Olympic hockey team is an understatement. Having been to the Olympics myself for swimming in Moscow (1980) and understanding the hard work that it takes, I have always been concerned about Nicole feeling some form of pressure to reach the same height in her own sporting career, even if I didn’t expect it of her – particularly knowing that she would be the fourth generation Olympian in our family.
“When I went to the Olympics, I hadn’t known about my uncle and great-uncle and that I was the third generation. I trained hard with my swimming and the same year that Zimbabwe gained independence they announced that we were going to the Olympics in a couple of months time and I was selected. This was a short journey for me compared to what Nicole has endured over the years. The selection process for a team sport is rigorous enough without an injury taking you out of the system for a year or two. Nicole has shown such dedication and commitment towards achieving her dream and we have all been quite overwhelmed since the announcement of the team.”
The 2021 Olympics is set to be staged from 23 July to 8 August. – MORGAN PIEK
