Pain Unlocks the Next Level: In the mind of a Champion, with Jaco Smit - Ep70
This week I speak to Jaco Smit, a visually impaired South African champion athlete who allowed his adversity to carve out his advantage. Jaco grew up in a \u2018dorp\u2019 in the Eastern Cape and where the chances of someone like him representing South Africa is unheard of. But his resilience and commitment to his dream made it all possible.
\nJaco and I speak about his childhood, and he recalls how at the age of 8 he would go and clean gardens after school and take that R5 that he made to buy a loaf of bread for dinner, as his parents struggled financially. He didn\u2019t see it as a burden though and is thankful for that level of responsibility and pressure, as it helped him ease through the difficulties of life that followed. In fact, he credits his success as an athlete to those difficult times.
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\nAt the age of 20 Jaco was working at a local supermarket and running the 5km to work and back daily. Then he suddenly got retrenched, which gave him the push to go all in on his dreams to be a South African champion. Jaco makes reference to the fact that sometimes a door has to shut in our face in order for us to find the door that has been waiting for us.
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\nToday Jaco trains with an abled bodied team, he likes the challenge as it forces him to get better.
\nJaco and I also speak about the disappointment he faced when he did not get the call up to represent South Africa at the Paralympics this year. He gives us some insight into how he reframed this setback so that it sets him up for a greater comeback, with his mind set on the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
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\nStay tuned, this is an episode not to be missed.
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\nSome of Jaco's achievements are;
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- 2019- Won 1 Gold Medal in the 400m at the 2019 World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Swirtzerland. \n
- 2019- Won 1 Bronze Medal in the 400m at the 2019 World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Italy. \n
- 2019- Won 2 Gold Medals( 400m and 100m) at the 2019 SASAPD National Championships for the Disabled in Stellenboch.
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