South African gymnastics sisters are ready to raise the bar in Glasgow

Tucked away in the Johannesburg ­suburb of Newlands is an unassuming brown-brick structure that could be mistaken for an office building. Step inside, however, and it becomes clear that this is where gymnastics dreams are realised.

The Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre (JGC) buzzes with activity as young gymnasts tumble across the floor in their powdered clothes and coaches move between apparatuses. The walls are adorned with photographs, accolades and newspaper clippings all telling the story of six Olympians and dozens of international representatives produced by the club.

Two of those athletes are sisters Naveen and Zelmé Daries. They are part of the seven-member South African gymnastics team travelling to the 2026 Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 2 August. For 24-year-old Naveen, it will be her third consecutive appearance at the Commonwealth Games. For Zelmé (21) it will be her first.

Three years apart in age and at different stages of their careers, the sisters are preparing to share one of the biggest moments of their sporting lives. “It means so much to me,” said Zelmé, beaming from ear to ear, a nervous yet excited glint in her eye. “It means my hard work has paid off and everything I’ve been through was not for nothing. And sharing it with my sister is just icing on the cake. She’s my bestie, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else, especially for my first one.”

Naveen, who will be an anchor and mentor to Zelmé, was equally excited. “I’m very proud of Zelmé,” she said. “I feel very blessed to be competing alongside her because I know she’s come a long way. There have been building blocks and some setbacks along the way, but I’m very happy for her.”

Same house, different journeys

Despite growing up under the same roof, the sisters’ journey with gymnastics evolved differently. For Naveen, the path was clear from the beginning. As an energetic six-year-old looking for an outlet, she went with her mother to a gymnastics open day after initially wanting to try karate. The coaches quickly noticed her natural talents and encouraged her to join.

“I was fearless,” said Naveen. “I was just doing stuff that a six-year-old wouldn’t normally do.”

From then onwards, gymnastics became her focus. Training sessions bookended school days and, before the Daries family eventually relocated to Johannesburg, they regularly travelled between Pretoria and the JGC to support Naveen’s ambitions.

As a three-year-old, Zelmé naturally followed her older sister to the gym. Rather than sit on the sidelines, she joined in on the fun of cartwheels, twists and flips.

To accommodate the demands of elite gymnastics, both sisters attended a home-schooling centre. Whereas Naveen was so certain in her pursuit of gymnastics and embraced the sacrifices required with high-performance sport, Zelmé wrestled with them. She also wanted to be a regular teenager who could go to traditional school, play ­various sports and socialise on the weekend with her friends. “I didn’t know how to balance it,” said Zelmé.

When Naveen matriculated, Zelmé decided to leave the home-school environment and attend Curro. Only after finishing school did she fully commit to pursuing the sport. Zelmé was fortunate to have a support system willing to give her the space to make that decision.

“[My family] gave me the confidence to just stick with it, especially when I was going through that phase. My mom was always there, saying, ‘It’s okay, it may not be your time,’” she said.

Zelmé has since won multiple regional titles, competed at the World Championships and African Championships, was crowned the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics High Performance national champion earlier this year, and will now fulfil a childhood dream of representing South Africa at the Commonwealth Games.

Learning from one another

Overcoming the mental side of sport has been a great challenge for Zelmé. To help settle her nerves and build confidence before competitions, she has begun practising visualisation techniques. Used by athletes such as Michael Phelps, visualisation is the practice of engaging all five senses to vividly imagine oneself executing a specific skill or successfully competing in an event.

The night before a big competition, Zelmé will apply a face mask and mentally complete 10 “clean rounds” of vault, bar, beam and floor over and over. “The one thing I’ve learned from Zelmé is perseverance,” said Naveen. “While her setbacks might have not been physical, they were definitely a bit mental. She didn’t always want to be doing ­gymnastics, but she persevered and she pushed through and she’s the hardest worker I know.”

For Zelmé, Naveen has been her biggest role model, teaching her to deal with those setbacks with patience and grace. “Naveen has got me through the hardest times, even though she might not know it, but she really gets me through a lot,” Zelmé said.

Eyes on Glasgow

Naveen will arrive in Glasgow as one of South Africa’s most experienced gymnasts. She made her World Championships debut in 2017 at just 15 years old and has since represented South Africa at Worlds five more times. She has competed in World Cup events and African Championships, and perhaps her most significant achievement was competing in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

At her Commonwealth Games debut in 2018, Naveen qualified for the all-round final, but had to withdraw because of injury. Four years later, in Birmingham, she placed sixth in the all-round competition.

“I’m going to just take in and enjoy every moment because that’s what I did in 2022,” said Naveen. “I feel like we’ve prepared well – we’ve been working hard in and out of the gym. I’m going to give it my all and if there’s a setback, I put it behind me and I keep ­m­oving forward. So, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to replicate that or do better.”

Joining the Daries sisters is the highly experienced Caitlin Rooskrantz, a two-time Olympian and the 2022 Commonwealth Games uneven bars bronze medallist, among several other accolades. Completing the women’s team are young guns Buhle Nhleko and Karma Visagie. Daniel Mclean will be SA’s sole male artistic gymnast.

Leading the women’s effort is veteran coach Ilse Pelser, who also owns the JGC. Alongside Pelser is women’s assistant coach Leeland Christian, and Kevin Basson will serve as head coach of the men’s team.

Team SA placed fourth in the women’s category in 2022 and will be looking to improve in Glasgow. For the Daries sisters, the opportunity to walk onto the Commonwealth stage together is a moment that has been years in the making. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.