Hestrie Cloete

Hestrie Cloete

Personal information
Nationality	South African
Born	(1978-08-26) 26 August 1978 Germiston, South Africa
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb; 10 st 10 lb)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	High jump
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	HJ: 2.06 (Saint-Denis 2003)
Medal record Women's Athletics Competitor for  South Africa Olympic Games Silver 2004 Athens High jump Silver 2000 Sydney High jump World Championships Gold 2003 Paris High jump Gold 2001 Edmonton High jump Commonwealth Games Gold 1998 Kuala Lumpur High jump Gold 2002 Manchester High jump All-Africa Games Gold 1995 Harare High jump Gold 1999 Johannesburg High jump African Championships Gold 1998 Dakar High jump Gold 2002 Tunis High jump Gold 2004 Brazzaville High jump
Updated on 14 November 2013.

Hestrie Cloete-Storbeck (born 26 August 1978) is a former, highly successful South African high jumper. Her foremost achievements were winning two world championships and two silver medals at Olympic Games.

Career

Cloete was discovered at an age of 13 by her long-time coach Martin Marx, and trained at the Lichtenburg High School early in her career. She was quickly found to have a very strong will, which had given other coaches trouble coaching her. Hestrie Cloete had always put a great significance in maintaining a strong mind, and explained that she finds much of that strength in her faith. In 2003, she was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver (OIS) by South African president Thabo Mbeki for excellence in her sports performances.

Cloete had somewhat unusual habits, as she was known to smoke about a pack of cigarettes a day, and has also stated she loved fast food. In an attempt to focus before every jump, Cloete characteristically did spin her index fingers around each other, leaned sideways with her upper body and visualized every step of her attempt.

Cloete retired after the 2004 Summer Olympics to focus on her family.

Achievements

Hestrie's awarded international achievements follow below. She achieved her high jump personal best of 2.06 m on 31 August 2003, when winning the gold medal under the World Championships in Paris (African record, as of Mai 2011)

Personal life

Cloete grew up under her maiden name Storbeck in the small railway town of Coligny with her mother Martie and father Willem. She divorced her first husband in 2004 and married Afrikaans singer Jurie Els in 2007, gave birth to a daughter and moved to New Zealand late in 2007.^[1]

See also

• Female two metres club

References

External links

• Hestrie Cloete profile at IAAF
• "Hestrie Cloete". South African History Online. Retrieved 2007-12-03. 
• Hestrie Cloete Pictures

Awards
Preceded by Paula Radcliffe	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2003	Succeeded by Yelena Isinbayeva
Sporting positions
Preceded by Venelina Veneva	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 1999	Succeeded by Monica Iagăr
Preceded by Kajsa Bergqvist	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance alongside Kajsa Bergqvist 2003	Succeeded by Yelena Slesarenko