George Olympians honoured for their talent, dedication

GEORGE NEWS - George Municipality hosted an intimate gathering on Wednesday this week to honour two of our Olympian athletes who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in July this year.

Marathon runner Elroy Gelant and surfer Bianca Buitendag of George were applauded for their dedication, talent and Olympic performance.

Present at the gathering were George Mayor Leon van Wyk, Deputy Mayor Charlotte Clarke, Director of Planning Lauren Waring, Tourism Manager Joan Shaw and Portfolio Councillor for Finance and Strategic Services, Dirk Wessels.

Quoting from Malcolm Gladwell's popular book Outliers which discusses the "10 000 hours" concept, Van Wyk acknowledged the time, energy, sheer will and determination that got Elroy and Bianca to the Olympics this year. Outliers, according to Gladwell, are the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the questions, "What makes high achievers different? And determines that 10 000 hours of practice plays a substantial role in the incredible achievements of elite artists, athletes and musicians?"

Yvonne and Stephen Gelant, proud parents of Elroy Gelant who is a lecturer at Potchefstroom University, received a framed photograph of the Outeniqua Mountains for their son. Professional surfer Bianca Buitendag, the silver medal winner in the women's shortboard competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was thrilled with her framed photograph of a surfer standing on the rocks at Victoria Bay, photographed by local Melanie Maré.

Yvonne and Stephen Gelant, proud parents of Elroy Gelant, with Mayor Leon van Wyk (middle).

Night race and social surf

George Municipality also proudly announced that it will financially support and host the annual Elroy Gelant Night Race this year, to be held in Pacaltsdorp in December, a sporting and fun event for the whole family. The aim of the event is to develop local athletics and promote sport. The race falls within the approved SWD athletics calendar. The race was named after Gelant in 2016, in honour of him becoming an Olympic athlete that year.

George Municipality partnered with Buitendag supporting her financially in her quest to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Bianca was appointed as an ambassador for George and proved to be a key asset in promoting George as a tourist and great surfing destination.

A spin-off of this support is a girl's social surf get-together, which will be hosted by Buitendag at Victoria Bay in October, where she hopes to inspire young surfers to reach for their dreams. Watch the press for details.

Bianca Buitendag flying the SA flag after winning a silver medal in Tokyo.