"I don't think I've ever done anything balanced. That said, I don't think that you can do anything to your maximum potential without having a passion for it. I love riding my bike and I love nutrition; those two passions do take a little bit of self-discipline but have served me well; they have applied to my entire sporting career."
When Hannele Steyn talks about a sporting career, many in the South African can only relate to her achievements in the sport of mountain biking. A fixture in endurance mountain biking, the name Hannele Steyn is synonymous with top placings in events such as the ABSA Cape Epic, Sani2C, Cape Pioneer Trek, Trans Baviaans and so on. Whilst these achievements are certainly impressive as they are aplenty, they really only scratch the surface of an athletic palmares spanning almost three decades and as many sports and even more countries.
"It was a difficult time," relates Hannele recounting her initial steps as professional triathlete in the early 1990s. "I had to take a huge risk in quitting my full-time job to pursue my dream of being a professional triathlete. Going overseas alone on a modest budget of five dollars a day was a giant step. In fact, I am eternally grateful to my first ever sponsors, Pizzaz, who believed in me and helped me get started."
South Africa was certainly a different place during this period; being a professional athlete in an obscure sport like triathlon was certainly not viewed as status quo in most quarters. Backed by a small Cape Town pizza chain, Hannele's results domestically were sensational to say the least. But as with many South African athletes of the time, she yearned to compete internationally, looking for that one window of opportunity to display her talents. Such is the flow of life that Hannele was seemingly in the right place at the right time in late 1992.
"South Africa hosted it's first ever international duathlon, organised under the auspices of the ITU. After I had won that duathlon, Les McDonald, who was the federation's president at the time, invited me to come to the opening World Cup triathlon of the 1993. He also asked if I was willing to give up my day-job and pursue a career as a professional triathlete."
Certainly not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Hannele accepted the offer graciously; she now had her chance. Thus began a whirlwind journey and whilst exciting was certainly not always that glamorous. "Les provided the air ticket and entry to that first World Cup, saying that, as long as placed in the top-ten, I would receive a free ticket and entry to the following round. He also confirmed that I would get sponsors and earn money, so I quit my job, sold as many things as possible and booked my ticket."
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| Hannele Steyn and Jaco Loots: SA Triathlon Champions of 1991 |
Although South Africa was by now in a period of political transformation, Hannele still had to keep her nationality "on the back-burner" at times. She would also need to surround herself with the sports' best and live in a place with easier access to international travel than back at home. Basing herself in California, her journey to the "Sunshine State" took her four days, with stops in London, New York and Minneapolis before finally arriving in San Fransisco. Eating, sleeping and running at airports for a few days, she was a "walking zombie" once arriving at her modest Orange County accommodation.
"To cut a long story short, I managed to finish eighth at that first World Cup and ended up seventh in the overall rankings by the end of the 1993 season."
As her international profile gained momentum, so did her results and Hannele rose to fifth place in the ITU world rankings the following year. These results were not without sacrifice however, full-time athlete notwithstanding.
"I was a total social nerd before and during my professional career; in fact, I think that I am still one! Before turning pro, I would wake up at 4am to train before work and then go cycling in the evenings. And I loved every minute of it! That approach really extended onto my pro career and I think that I was almost selfish in my pursuit of being a World Champion; I was so driven."
So driven in fact that Hannele promised herself that she could finally retire from the sport after becoming a World Champion and winning the national championships at home one last time.
"Fortunately I won the World title in my age-group in New Zealand in 1994 otherwise I don't think I would have stopped trying!"
Sporting prowess aside, Hannele has an academic pedigree with degrees in Microbiology and Genetics as well as further education in marketing and nutrition. Unsurprisingly, she has combined her athletic and academic backgrounds into a business model of which she is equally passionate about.
"My passion for nutrition was ignited whilst working for PVM and I realised that if you want to reach the highest level in sport, you need to look after your body, which is effectively the basis of your business. I had to try and find the best approach to nutrition during my professional career. After many years of trial and error I think I have found the optimum approach to lifestyle and nutrition and that is what Passion4Wholeness is all about."
One of the products offered by the Passion4Wholeness brand is Hannele's own homemade muesli. Rich in anti-oxidants and free of sugar, the first batch was made in her own kitchen. The result: no label or expiry date, but great tasting and totally wholesome. A few years later and Passion4Wholeness muesli has expanded to include a business partner and is now available in many Western Cape shops, including Chris Willemse Cycles Online.
Nowadays Hannele focuses her energy into her business, linking her profits to two separate charities.
"My ultimate goal is to develop Passion4Wholeness into a household name. This would mean that people know and eat my muesli and realise that I can help them with practical tips on healthy nutrition without needing special diets. To help them achieve their athletic goals in a simple way with a combination of science and experience."
Sport, and more specifically mountain biking, continues to form part of her everyday life, something which Hannele thinks balances out her working day.
"My days start with an early morning cycle before getting down to email correspondence and manufacturing. Exercise keeps me balanced; I can work tired but I cannot train tired! On the racing side I'm focusing on the long stuff; I'm just too old and slow to compete in the short, fast stuff. The Tour d' Afrique has long been a dream of mine is what I'm working towards."
With such a wealth of experience and results behind her, how would Hannele advise up-and-coming female athletes wanting to make the step to professional status?
"Make you dreams a reality; you can achieve this if you have a true passion. The "shelf-life" professional athlete is limited, so you have to be an opportunist and grab any chance that comes your way. It is certainly not an easy life, but as the cliché goes 'nothing worthwhile ever is!'"
