Four out of four is what Phumele Tshabalala can boast after winning the overall USSA Sprint Rowing Regatta at the Misverstand Dam in the Western Cape.
The final-year Tuks law student put his body on the line in each of the victories to ensure his team triumphed. He won four gold medals and a silver medal. It is quite fitting, as it is the last time that he would compete at the championships.
Tuks not only won overall. This time by their biggest margin. Both the men’s and women’s teams are champions of their divisions for the second consecutive year. The women’s team has actually also been champions for the past four years.
When Tshabalala was asked why he thought Tuks’ rowers are so dominant at the USSA Championships, his answer was, “I think it is the culture at the club. I have to give credit to all the ‘guys’ who came before us. They knew what they wanted to achieve. It is they who instilled a culture of hard work. From the outside, it might look like we have nailed it; it’s also easy. But it all comes down to hard work. Pulling together towards the common goal. As a team, we are only as good as the effort everyone gives.”
It was a friend who persuaded Thabalala to start rowing. He was 13 at the time.
“I quickly realised that rowing is one of those sports where you will always strive for perfection. There is always something you can do better. Even Olympic-level rowers are continually trying to hone their skills. I enjoy the idea of rowing being a continuous process. You know you are not going to get there, but it is that pursuit of perfection that I find interesting.
“Competitive rowing is very hard. You reach a stage during the race when your body starts rebelling. It is that moment when you wonder how long you can keep this up. That is when your mind has to take control,” said Tshabalala, who is the South African single sculls champion.
Tuks USSA gold medallists are: Women’s double sculls (Emma Morgans, Done Erasmus); Men’s Light Weight Scull (Shane Mearns); Men’s Single Sculls (Phumele Tshabalala); Women’s Coxless Quadruple Scull (Tanna Diplock, Done Erasmus, Emma Morgans, Courtney Westley); Men’s Coxed Four (Rhett Zillen-coxswain, Aiden van der Breggen, Warrick Kyriazis, Troy Zillen, Phumele Tshabalala); Women’s eight with coxswain (Motsabi Thatohatse-cox, Rene Gous, Tanna Diplock, Jennifer-Mae Coetzee, Chanel Roetger, Emma Morgans, Done Erasmus, Courtney Westley, Tessa Brugman); Men’s Lightweight Double Scull (Byron Sikiotis, Shane Mearns); Men’s Double Scull (Troy Zillen, Phumele Tshabalala), Women’s Single Scull (Done Erasmus); Men’s Coxless Pair (Aiden van der Breggen, Warrick Kyriazis); Women’s Coxed Four (Motsabi Thatohatse-cox, Emma Morgans, Tanna Diplock, Courtney Westley, Done Erasmus); Women’s Coxless Four (Tanna Diplock, Emma Morgans, Done Erasmus, Courtney Westley); Men’s eight with coxswain (Rhet Zillen-cox, Troy Zillen, Douglas Munro, Riccardi Giacomo, Nicholas Judelsohn, Aiden van der Breggen, Warrick Kyriazis, Darian Ferreira, Phumele Tshabalalala).
