Onele Mika Tyawa has skipped, somersaulted, danced, flipped and leapt to KZN colours ‒ and a lot of gold ‒ in gymnastics.
The 11-year-old was recently awarded her KZN colours in gymnastics after winning four gold medals at the KZN Gymnastics Championships in Pinetown.
The Reddam House Ballito pupil joined the school’s gymnastics team after relocating from Gauteng with her family.
She initially loved and pursued dance, but since schools in KwaZulu-Natal did not have great dance programmes she chose to put all her energy into gymnastics.
However, she straddled both dance and gymnastics but only started gymnastics at 8-years-old. She is currently on level 6 and is continued to be inspired by women in the sport.
“I got into gymnastics because I was a self-taught gymnast and I always thought that being able to do a flip was really cool but my parents were always worried that I’d injure myself doing tricks without professional supervision. I would say that all the black girls that have made a massive display in the sport have inspired me.”
Onele said her favourite part of the sport was learning new skills and routines, but finding the balance between school and gymnastics was the hardest part.
“My mom, teachers, and coaches have made it possible to work around a schedule that fits my needs, and have made finding a balance between school and gymnastics manageable.”
She has competed in club, provincial, and national competitions for dance and gymnastics, but she had to drop dancing after the move to Durban.
“Dance has definitely made a big impact on my execution in gymnastics. I have done well in many of my gymnastics competitions because I had learnt how to be confident and show expressions through my movements from dancing.”
The Ballito resident said she was proud that her dedication had earned her KZN colours.
“Having KZN colours at such a young age feels like something I’d never thought I’d have. Having colours makes me realise that all my hard work has paid off: all of the long days, painful training sessions, time my mom has taken out of her day to make sure I get to gymnastics, and days that I remembered what I was doing this for, have made me feel like all the steps leading up to my dream goal are getting ticked off one by one.”
Onele will compete at the SA Championships towards the end of October.
“I try to never set my expectations too high because you never know what the competition is like and how tough it’s going to be to beat it. I would obviously hope to do well in the competition but being humble is a major part of it.”
She said hoped to turn gymnastics into a career and compete at the Olympics, but emphasised that school and education would always be her biggest priority.
“Gymnastics requires a lot of patience and dedication. There are many components to getting where you want to be, so all you can do is keep pushing and never give up, always put your faith in God and those guiding you as they are the ones who will take you the furthest,” said Onele.