Young South African sprint sensation Viwe Jingqi has shared how she overcame the toughest challenge in her career this season and the toll it took mentally.
Jingqi, seen as a generational talent after bursting onto the scene last year with some eye-catching performances, has seen her promising career threatened by injuries this season. Last season, Jingqi announced herself in style and made many sit upright and take notice when she broke the long-standing SA 100m
under-20 record and the 200m under-18 mark.
This season, however, the teenager from Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape could not build momentum, having to overcome homesickness, family tragedy, expectations and injuries.
“At the end of last year, I had a hamstring strain but I came back from it. And then mid February, I had to go for an appendix surgery, and it was the only thing that I was focusing on,” said Jingqi.
“I also had a hamstring strain again a few weeks back. So, I have been focused on healing the operation and getting the hamstring strain better. It’s been very tough.
“I won’t lie, I’m a person of high expectations and I had a lot planned for this season, but my body has been very rusty after not competing for over six months. It doesn’t help that I tend to overthink a lot of things and that affects me mentally. I think my body is getting there, but I’m still suffering mentally after all the setbacks.”
It took countless hours of hard physical and mental work behind the scenes to get Jingqi back to full fitness physically and mentally, and now the youngster is hoping to pick up where she left off. Her bright start to her career has created plenty of expectations, which come with a lot of pressure, but Jingqi insists it’s nothing she wasn’t built to handle.
“Sometimes it’s tough to deal with the pressure and expectations. I have been at my lowest these past few months but because I use pressure as motivation, I was able to come back,” said Jingqi.
“I just use all the pressure and expectations that are on my shoulders as motivation to just get better, but I have to admit that sometimes it gets a bit too much.”
Jingqi is adamant that she will live up to the promise that her young career is showing and will not fall by the wayside like many other athletes in her position have done before.
“For sure, with no doubt I’m going to be one of the top female sprinters not only in South Africa but the entire continent,” insists Jingqi.
“And looking at how competitive I am, I think I will get to the very top of the sport.”
Jingqi, who is still a junior despite being good enough to go toe to toe with the seniors, will not be trying to qualify for the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, this year.
“The World Champs are not in my plans this year. I’m focusing more on next year’s big competitions,” Jingqi concluded.
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