In March, South Africa’s Club 21 athletes travelled to Turkey for the World Trisome Games – a multi-sport global championships event for athletes with Down Syndrome.
From the 17th to the 27th of March, athletes from 33 countries across the globe gathered in Turkey to participate in the 10-day event, which comprised of athletics, swimming, tennis and gymnastics.
Thirteen athletes from Centurion’s Club21 made the nation proud, racking in a total of 29 medals, with two of the team’s athletes breaking world records in the process.
At the event, which has been described as the Olympics for athletes with Down Syndrome, Cindy Engelbrecht was one of the South African competitors to make her mark in history, setting a world record and an African record for the Mosaic Category in the 800m walk.
Facebook / Club21
Returning home, Engelbrecht boasted her gold medal for the 800m Mosaic Ladies Walk, along with silver medals for 800m Mosaic Women’s Running and Shot Put Mosaic Ladies, setting new African records for both. She also claimed silver in the Javelin Throw Mosaic Ladies category.
According to an article published by Rekord, Cindy says:
“I exercised very hard and motivated myself to do better every day,”
With all the hard work she had put in, Cindy was motivated to give it her best shot.
“I know I worked very hard to prepare, so I knew that I was ready to reach great heights.”
As quoted in an article published by JacarandaFM, Cindy’s mother, Celia, believes that her daughter’s talents know no limits.
“In Cindy se woordeskat is daar nie die woorde ‘ek kan nie’ haar leuse is ‘Ek Kan’ en dan doen sy dit. Ons as gesin het al so baie by haar geleer van Christenskap en ‘n omgee hart.”
[“In Cindy’s vocabulary the words ‘I can’t’ don’t exist. Her motto is ‘I Can’ and then she does it. We as a family have learned so much from her about Christianity and a caring heart.”]
Cindy, who lives in Vanderbijlpark, joined Club21 in 2017, where she first discovered her talents for sport. Engelbrecht went on to represent South Africa at the 2018 World Trisome Games in Madeira, clinching two silver and one bronze medal.
Last year, in 2023, Cindy was nominated as the Tshwane Sportswoman of the year in 2023 for her undeniable table tennis prowess. Adding to the achievements, Cindy received her national clothes for javelin, shot put, discus, 800m walk and table tennis.
These remarkable feats led Engelbrecht to compete as one of the 13 incredible South African athletes who gave it their all at the World Trisome Games this year.
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Feature Image: JacarandaFM
