National hockey player Toni Marks will be looking to make the best of her experience despite missing out on her ultimate goal of getting into the final 16 of the SA women’s playing squad to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 26-year-old was named as a travelling reserve in the 19-member squad jetting off to the Japanese spectacle, starting on July 23.
Marks, who manages her own online business, said this was an opportunity for her to realise the dream she first had as an eight-year-old growing up in Gqeberha.
Now based in Johannesburg, Marks will be looking to take in as much as she can from the trip to Tokyo.
“Initially there were mixed feelings. It’s very exciting that I am on the plane heading to Tokyo, which was probably my childhood goal.
“The journey has been crazy. Obviously top 16 would have been the first prize, but based on the journey, to be in the position I am now, I am really proud of myself. I set really high standards for myself, but looking back, if you told me a year ago I’d be on a plane to Tokyo, I would have laughed,” she said.
Marks felt the extra year of preparation had served the SA side well and they were in a much better position now.
“Everyone has been training for an extra year now, and not many people realise how tough it is to add an extra year to your schedule.
“For us, it is an extra year of preparation, which I think we have used well, and I think we are in a better position now than we would have been if the Games had happened last year,” she said.
Playing hockey and pursuing the possibility of a club career in Europe before the onset of the global pandemic, the former Collegiate pupil said the extra year had guided her to focus on what she needed to improve on.
“Having played mostly in Europe, I was pretty sure I had fallen out of the SA squad. To be honest, if the Olympics happened last year, I probably would not have gone.
“I was just in a completely different space playing in Europe, but I think this extra year helped me to hone in on what I needed to do, to be better both mentally and physically.
“I have worked very hard on that during the lockdown and moving to Joburg also really helped with that,” Marks said.
“Things were really tough during the lockdown. However, I kept asking myself ‘what would an Olympian do’ and that was my motivation to just get up every day.
“It was a decision between watching Netflix all day or doing a training session, or whatever was allowed at that time. It was that mindset that kept me going through all the disappointments,” she said.
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