This Day in History: August 26, 1978
Additional Date: August 26, 1978
Hestrie Cloete was born in Germiston, East of Johannesburg on 26 August 1978. She began participating in sports at an early age. Her long-time coach, Martin Marx, discovered her at the age of 13. Hestrie proved to be a top athlete when she won a gold medal at the world championships in Paris in 2003. The following year she won two silver medals at the Olympic Games.
Cloete was famous for her mental focus ritual of spinning her index fingers around each other and leaning sideways before every jump. After the 2004 Olympics, Cloete retired from professional sports. She married Afrikaans singer, Jurie Els and in 2007 they moved to New Zealand.