Mary Royi is a Grade 6 pupil at Victoria Girls’ Primary School. Described by her teacher, Jeannie Ellis, as a
“superb athlete” this feisty 11-year-old seems shy at first, but as soon as she gets onto the topic of sport, her words hurtle over each other in a race to be heard.
Mary Royi is a Grade 6 pupil at Victoria Girls’ Primary School. Described by her teacher, Jeannie Ellis, as a
“superb athlete” this feisty 11-year-old seems shy at first, but as soon as she gets onto the topic of sport, her words hurtle over each other in a race to be heard.
When we meet, she’s warming up for cross-country practice. Mary has broken records at the school’s interhouse athletics day last year in the U11 high jump (1.22m); U11 long jump (4.2m); completed the 800m race in 3:03:78 and achieved a distance of 34:10m in the U11 cricket ball.
She also won the following events at the 2009 Interschools Athletics Triangular between Victoria Primary, DSG and Kingswood: high jump, 100m, 200m, 400m and broke the interschools’ long jump record, achieving 4.2m.
Mary plays in the U13 hockey squad and last year she played U11A netball. This year she made it into the Albany tennis team and came second in the Grahamstown championships in her age group (U12).
Her sporting career started in Grade 1. “When I first started hockey, I wasn’t good but I carried on and played for the under 13A team in Grade Three”.
Since then, Mary has participated in cross-country, hockey, athletics, swimming and tennis. Mary likes sport as it keeps her fit.
Her main inspiration is her former teacher Emlitia Luke, “She used to encourage me when I ran, she always told me to use my arms when I run as it makes you faster”.
Mary wants to take part in the Olympic Games in the athletics category and win gold for South Africa. She is multi-talented as she is not only sporty, but she’s interested cultural activities such as being part of the choir.
She also wants to see if her talents extend to music and wants to play the marimba for the school orchestra because she likes the sound of the instrument. Mary’s role model is Serena Williams because “she’s good and she’s a top player”.
Mary’s friends, Sethu Mgwelo and Sesona Bay, say that Mary is a very talented, funny and loving person. Sesona says: “She makes us feel worthy at all times”.
Mary says that an important trait one has to have when playing sports is to be hard-working. She also has some practical advice for aspiring athletes: “The first thing they should worry about is school, it’s education first, then sports”.
