For Kendra de Beer, the medals tell only part of the story.
Behind the Protea colours and podium finishes are years of training, painful injuries, disappointing losses, sacrificed weekends, and the quiet discipline of being a teenager trying to balance elite sport with school.
The Reddam House Helderfontein scholar has emerged as one of South Africa’s young judo talents, successfully defending her U/19 Women’s -63kg title at the Johannesburg Junior African Cup before representing the country at the African Judo Championships in Morocco, where she finished fifth.
But the 17-year-old Kendra says her journey only truly became real when she earned her black belt last year.
“That’s when it clicked and became this huge confidence boost for me,” she says.
