Hestrie Cloete
Encyclopedia
Hestrie Cloete-Storbeck (born 26 August 1978 in Germiston, South Africa
) is a former, highly successful South Africa
n high jump
er. Her foremost achievements were winning two world championships and two silver medal
s at Olympic Games
.
(OIS) by South African president Thabo Mbeki
for excellence in her sports performances.
Cloete had somewhat unusual habits, as she was known to smoke about a pack of cigarette
s a day, and has also stated she loved fast food
. In an attempt to focus before every jump, Cloete characteristically did spin her index fingers around each other, leaned sideways with her upper body and visualized every step of her attempt.
Cloete retired after the 2004 Summer Olympics
to focus on her family.
under the World Championships
in Paris
(African record, as of Mai 2011)
of Coligny with her mother Martie and father Willem. She divorced her first husband in 2004 and married Afrikaans
singer Jurie Els in 2007, gave birth to a daughter and moved to New Zealand
late in 2007.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) is a former, highly successful South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
er. Her foremost achievements were winning two world championships and two silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
s at Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
.
Career
Cloete was discovered at an age of 13 by her long-time coach Martin Marx, and trained at the Lichtenburg High School early in her career. She was quickly found to have a very strong will, which had given other coaches trouble coaching her. Hestrie Cloete had always put a great significance in maintaining a strong mind, and explained that she finds much of that strength in her faith. In 2003, she was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in SilverOrder of Ikhamanga
The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports...
(OIS) by South African president Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
for excellence in her sports performances.
Cloete had somewhat unusual habits, as she was known to smoke about a pack of cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s a day, and has also stated she loved fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
. In an attempt to focus before every jump, Cloete characteristically did spin her index fingers around each other, leaned sideways with her upper body and visualized every step of her attempt.
Cloete retired after the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
to focus on her family.
Achievements
Hestrie's awarded international achievements follow below. She achieved her high jump personal best of 2.06 m on 31 August 2003, when winning the gold medalGold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
under the World Championships
2003 World Championships in Athletics
The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(African record, as of Mai 2011)
| Championship | Year | Height | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games Olympic Games The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate... |
2004 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team... |
2.02 m | Silver |
| 2000 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia... |
2.01 m | Silver | |
| World Championships in Athletics | 2003 2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:... |
2.06 m | Gold |
| 2001 2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America... |
2.00 m | Gold | |
| World Cup in Athletics | 1998 | 1.96 m (Alture) | Silver |
| 2002 | 2.02 m | Gold | |
| Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years.... |
2002 2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester... |
1.96 m | Gold |
| African Championships African Championships in Athletics The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics. It is generally organised biennually, every other event is held same year as the Summer Olympics.... |
2004 2004 African Championships in Athletics The 14th African Championships in Athletics were held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo in July, 2004. Since African Championships is a biennial event, this edition was contested only a month before 2004 Summer Olympics. Thus some top athletes shunned the event... |
1.95 m | Gold |
| 2002 2002 African Championships in Athletics The 13th African Championships in Athletics were held in Tunis and Radès, Tunisia in August, 2002.- Men's Results :-Field:-Track:-Field:-Medal table:-External links:* - GBR Athletics... |
1.95 m | Gold | |
| 1998 1998 African Championships in Athletics The 11th African Championships in Athletics were held in Dakar, Senegal, from August 18 to August 22 in the Stade Leopold Senghor.-Track:-Field:-Track:-Field:-Medal table:-External links:* - GBR Athletics... |
1.92 m | Gold | |
| All-Africa Games All-Africa Games The All-Africa Games, sometimes called the African Games or the Pan African Games, are a regional multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa... |
1999 Athletics at the 1999 All-Africa Games The seventh All-Africa Games were held in September 1999 in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the track is at an altitude of 1748 metres all performances are considered to be set at altitude, this is believed to assist events up to 400 metres and in the long jump and triple jump... |
1.96 m | Gold |
| 1995 Athletics at the 1995 All-Africa Games The sixth All-Africa Games were held in August 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe. As the track is at an altitude of 1473 metres all performances are considered to be set at altitude, this is believed to assist events up to 400 metres and in the long jump and triple jump... |
1.85 m | Gold |
Personal life
Cloete grew up under her maiden name Storbeck in the small railway townRailway town
A railway town is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site.In Victorian Britain, the spread of railways greatly affected the fate of many small towns...
of Coligny with her mother Martie and father Willem. She divorced her first husband in 2004 and married Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
singer Jurie Els in 2007, gave birth to a daughter and moved to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
late in 2007.