Mari Rabie is studying for an Msc in Applied Statistics at St Catherine's College and is hoping to compete for South Africa in the triathlon.
I have been competing in triathlons from the age of eight. My older sister was a really talented athlete and I didn't like sitting on the sidelines! Up until the age of 16 I was a competitive distance swimmer, but secretly loved running, so becoming serious about triathlon was inevitable. Triathlon became my main focus from the age of 18 and I was racing on the international circuit within a year, representing South Africa at the 2006 Commonwealth Games when I was 19.
In order to be selected to represent South Africa at the Olympics I have to meet the selection criteria of both the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the SASCOC (South African Commonwealth and Olympic Committee). For the IOC that means obtaining a Top 55 ranking, but the South African criterion is much stricter and I will need, by June 2012, to obtain a Top 10 world ranking to definitely be selected and Top 20 to be strongly considered. In the end the final decision on whether I get selected will lie with SASCOC. My world ranking is based on performance at World Series events in the two years prior to the Olympic Games.
I have suffered serious injuries for most of the two year qualification period, so time is running out to improve my ranking. Qualifying will be really tricky, but anything can happen. I will prepare as best as I can over winter to have an impressive 2012 season. Managing injuries has become a massive challenge for me and if London does not happen then Rio 2016 is definitely on the cards.
The world series races are all over the world and include a lot of travelling which is quite costly, but also amazing as you get to race in interesting places. The South African Triathlon Federation covers some of the cost and my parents are a huge financial help. All prize money is invested into travelling and training.
In heavy training weeks I will do between 25-30 hours a week. It involves six swim sessions, four or five riding sessions, between six and nine running sessions and two strength and conditioning sessions. This is mostly outside of term time, as this amount of training and the recovery needed is not possible with all the academic commitments. During term time I could only manage 15-20 hours of training.
It is really tough to combine sport and study. Top level sport requires total commitment from the athlete, which is not possible as a full time student. When combining sport and study, you have to see the training as a break from studying and studying as a break from training.
To me there is something magical about the Olympics. I have been mesmerised by the Games since watching Barcelona 1992 at the age of five when South Africa was allowed to compete again. There is so much emotion involved in the Olympics that spectators do not see.
My Olympic experience in Beijing was one of contrasting moments. Juxtaposed to achieving a sporting pinnacle by becoming an Olympian, Beijing was the biggest disappointment in my then 21 years. Being a mere Olympian was not my dream, while representing my country to the best of my abilities was. This dream was snatched from me due to technical problems with my bicycle. I will use the bitter taste of a shattered dream as motivation to qualify and compete at another Olympics Games.
Lord Sebastian Coe is an Olympic hero of mine, not only for his amazing athletic performances, but also for his involvement in London 2012. Another person I admire is Sir Roger Bannister. To me Sir Roger was the ultimate academic athlete and used his “failure” at the Olympics as motivation to then go on to break the four minute mile.
