The London Olympic Games were an unforgettable experience
for the six South Africans who spent a week there as part of the Powerade
“Train like an Olympian” program.
Powerade, the Official Sports Drink of the London 2012
Olympic Games, gave 60 sports fans from around the world an insight into the
life of an athlete at the Olympics at the Powerade Sport Academy.
The 60 amateur athletes, including the six South Africans,
were based at the Powerade Sports Academy were given valuable lessons on
training from Joze Luiz Barbasa (four times Olympic 800m athlete), Dean
Downing, professional cyclist, Ben Titley (head coach Team GB Swimming), former
NBA star and sports psychologist John Ameachi and Matt Bowe, swimming Olympc
silver Medalist.
The six South Africans who were chosen to go were Amos
Rangata, a school teacher at Spruitview on the East Rand; Frank Montgomery, a
financial accounting lecturer at Unisa in Tshwane; Eugene Strauss, a 34 year
old accountant from Gauteng; John Knapton who
is retired and lives in Vereeniging; Hannes Pretorius, an IT Consultant from
Rustenburg and Rockefeller Philips, a 44 year old golf player from Durban.
The Powerade Sports Academy
focused on teaching skills in five different Olympic sports – athletics,
swimming, football, cycling and basketball – and the five attended a program of
inspirational lectures and tips on training and hydration, and ate meals
designed specifically for the Academy by leading nutritionists.
All six agree the trip was the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I was very overwhelmed to have been chosen, on my way to
the airport it still had not sunk in that I am actually going to London,”
Phillips said.
This was echoed by Rangata who said that meeting the other
winners and learning more about them and their backgrounds was a highlight for
him.
The lectures and talks opened the eyes of the group as they
were able to see all that goes into an Olympic athlete’s preparation.
Lecturer, Frank Montgomery, said it was a different
experience as he was a student for a change. “When I looked through our
programme before I left South Africa it was the psychology behind how to cope
with the trials and tribulations of becoming an Olympian that intrigued me and
the lecture by John Ameachi did not disappoint me.”
The highlight of the trip, undoubtedly, was visiting the
Olympic Athletes Village.
“We got to see some really famous athletes in real life and
met the South African swimming medlaists, Cameron Van der Burgh and Chad Le
Clos. I must admit I was very excited because you do not get to bump into these
people on the streets,” said Rangata.
Phillips was able to have a brief chat with Cameron and told
him it was just unbelievable watching him finish his race and set a new world
record.
“He thanked me and said that the medal he was won was for all South Africans to celebrate and to show youngsters that with a positive approach to anything you do in life, nothing is impossible to achieve”.
The amateur athletes say they learned a tremendous amount
about exercise, and hydration during the week.
“I learned how important it is to be on a healthy diet, as
we had nutritionist there explaining to us which foods and supplements to take
to insure that you stay healthy,” Phillips said.
“I have been a healthy eater all along, so for me the big
thing that I will be implementing into my diet is drink more water and to use
more Powerade as we were taught that you need more than water alone to help the
body to keep hydrated.”
Rangata said he was surprised to see just how much training
it takes to be the best. “We had to give urine samples and were taught which
supplements to take while warming up and also how essential it is to drink
Powerade energy drinks before and after training.
For Eugene Strauss the day
spent in the Olympic Stadium was a highlight, and a day he will brag about for
years to come.
“The atmosphere in the stadium
was electric,” he said. “Seeing the action from so close made me realise just
how amazing these athletes are. The rhythm with which they performed their
respective disciplines reaffirmed the lessons we learned regarding the
importance of rhythm in exercise and sport.”
All six agree that the trip was a life-changing experience,
and that Powerade has given them greater appreciation of the great athletes,
and a new enthusiasm for their own sport.
Powerade on the field of play
and at the Olympic Athletes’ Village
As Official Sports Drink of the
London 2012 Olympic Games, Powerade will be front and center at London 2012,
hydrating more than 10,000 athletes across 26 sports on the field of play both
in training and game venues. In addition to providing product on the field of
play, the ‘Powerade Hydration Center’ inside the Globe at the Olympic Athletes’
Village will allow athletes to customize their own Powerade Sports Bottles, order
the Powerade PRO Sports Hydration powder and get hydration tips to help them perform.
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