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African Wolf Academy coach Cynthia Simelane says her love for weightlifting is the reason she now helps the youth in Tembisa learn the sport.
Speaking to SABC Sport on the sidelines of the beginner level competition recently, where Simelane showed up with 13 kids from the township to participate, she tells of her transition from athlete to teacher.
It was only the second time the African Wolf Academy took part in an official weightlifting competition, although there were plenty who were making their debuts at that sort of stage.
Simelane explains why her role is so fulfilling.
" I started weightlifting at a very young age. I was an athlete in school, and when I was pursuing my studies, that's when I started my fitness journey again. After working at Flow Electronics, my boss opened a gym and introduced me to weightlifting, but by then, I was doing CrossFit. In CrossFit, I was doing powerlifting as well, and I used to compete nationally. I gained my love for weightlifting while I was doing CrossFit, so since then I never stopped, up until Caroline Wolf (the head of African Wolf Academy) gave me a chance to do the coaching and the training at the same time," said Cynthia.
The academy is open for kids from the age of eight and upwards, and Simelane says her life revolves around unearthing talented weightlifters.
"I enjoy what I'm doing a lot. It's my passion, I sleep to it, I wake up to it, I'm always thinking of African Wolf Academy.
She adds, "I coach the ages of 8 to 17 years. Blessing Sokhela is one of my athletes, he's 11 years old, and he's doing massive. He's a strong guy."
Simelane adds that her coaching technique caters for both males and females, although naturally the gym tends to attract a lot more girls.
