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Ambassadors: Swimming, Tennis
SWIMMING
Penny Heyns (South Africa)
Acknowledged as one of the greatest swimmers of all time, the crowning achievements of Penny Heyns’ career happened at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 when she won gold in the 100 and 200 metres breaststroke. Lying a close second to those gold medals would be her spectacular form of 1999 when, in the course of three months, she set 11 world records, including four in two days at the Janet Evans Invitational! At the Sydney Olympics, although not in top form, she won bronze in the 100 metres and then announced her retirement. Heyns has not slipped out of the public eye, however, and she is regularly seen on South African television presenting a weekly programme on swimming.
Terence Parkin (South Africa)
Breaststroke ace Terence Parkin was born deaf, but it was a disability that he has never allowed to hinder him; he has proved that time and time again by competing against and
beating the top swimmers in the world. The highlight of his career thus far has been the Olympic silver medal he won in the 200 metres in Sydney in 2000; he was so proud of that achievement that he wore his medal to bed that night. Other lofty achievements in his career include a gold medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games and a silver at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Parkin was named the International Deaf Sports Federation’s Sportsman of the Year in 2000.
TENNIS
Byron Black (Zimbabwe)
The oldest of three children who are professional tennis players, Byron Black, along with his brother Wayne and sister Cara, has kept Zimbabwe’s name flying high in world tennis. He has enjoyed most success as a doubles’ player, winning a major, the French Open, in 1994 and finishing as runner-up at Wimbledon in 1996 and in the Australian Open in 1994 and 2001. A mainstay of Zimbabwe’s Davis Cup team, the 33-year old Black has won two singles
titles and 22 doubles titles in a career that began as long ago as 1991.
Amanda Coetzer (South Africa)
Amanda Coetzer turned professional way back in January 1988 and has since become a fan favourite on the tennis courts of the world. Standing only 1.5 metres tall, she has succeeded in an age when the game has turned to power with her never-say-die attitude, chasing down every ball with remarkable hustle. Coetzer’s career high ranking is number three, achieved in 1997. She has eight singles titles and nine doubles titles to her credit. In addition, Coetzer, nicknamed 'The Little Assassin', has represented South Africa at three consecutive Olympic Games in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney and she also won the Hopman Cup title with Wayne Ferreira in 2000.
Wayne Ferreira (South Africa)
Wayne Ferreira has been South Africa’s top tennis player for well over a decade. He turned professional in 1989, the same year in which he was ranked the top junior
doubles player in the world. Since then he was won 14 singles titles and 10 doubles titles, as well as a silver medal in the doubles at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Ferreira’s highest singles ranking is sixth in the world and he holds an envious 6-6 career-record against 14-times major winner Pete Sampras, regarded by many as the greatest player ever. He has long been a stalwart of the South African Davis Cup team, making the effort to represent his country time after time in an age when most tennis players seem to play for themselves only.
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In patriotic pose: tennis star Amanda Coetzer once ranked as high as third in the world in singles |
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