Almost eighteen months have passed since the Rio Olympics. The halfway mark between consecutive Games is generally a pivotal time. Athletes are beginning their qualifying campaigns, especially in sports like triathlon whose Olympic qualifying process is a long and arduous one.
Mari Rabie knows this journey all too well. A "veteran" of two Olympiads, Stellenbosch-based Mari triathlon career included Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016. While Mari was in London for the 2012 Games, she was there as a spectator, taking a break from her studies at Oxford, itself a journey as difficult and challenging. And while Mari (pictured above late-January 2016 in orange singlet) picked herself up after a string of illness and injury woes to feature strongly at Rio, she drew a line under her sporting career immediately after crossing the line in highly creditable 13th position.
So what do former Olympians do when they've decided to call it quits on the demands of elite competition? They move on of course. Now, this is easier said than done. There are many stories of former champions (and also rans) battling to adapt to life after sport. Part of the problem is that they've invested so much in a single pursuit that a feeling of "what now" often rears its head. Some come out of this tough period and reinvent themselves but many don't.
But I'm not sure if any of this applies to Mari. Bumping into her at a recent mountain bike stage race in South Africa's rugged Tankwa region, Mari stood out from the other participants during the afternoon laze. While most everyone was glued to their mobile phones if not chatting to others, the twice Olympian was lying outside her tent immersed in a book. It had been quite a while since we last spoke, our last encounter being my interviewing her for a magazine profile. At that time, she was newly out of the elite sporting loop, revelling in her new life of working full time and enjoying running and cycling as a fun participant instead of a focussed competitor. I like to keep busy she said then, and the same is clearly present now.
'I don't really know,' said Mari upon my asking if she was paying any attention to the Discovery Triathlon World Cup Cape Town scheduled for the next day. 'I'm so far removed from the sport now that it feels like another life. I'm still working for the same company and am enjoying keeping fit and having the opportunity to do some fun and challenging events. I'm packing my bike away on Monday though. Katie Roberts (fellow triathlon Olympian and now uber-coach) and I are running the Africa-X Trail Run together so I'm really looking forward to that. But otherwise work and life is keeping me busy, so everything is good.'
Good luck for Africa-X Mari and Kate. Congratulations also on your ongoing new ventures.
Yes, there is life after (elite) sport!
