MARK ETHERIDGE: After reaching water sports pinnacle, Donner-Rodd gives back
The former continental and national triathlon champion now fuels her passion by teaching children to swim
24 January 2025 - 05:00
UPDATED 24 January 2025 - 12:39
byMark Etheridge
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Dominique Donner-Rodd with her Shakaskraal Community squad at the Crawford International College, Durban North. Picture: SUPPLIED
By her own admission, sports personality Dominique Donner-Rodd doesn’t get out much at all these days — so it’s quite apt she found time to sing along to Feel, her favourite song from UK pop star Robbie Williams’ 2002 album Escapology as he performed at the Cape Town Stadium this week.
Donner-Rodd, now 54, has had a life that revolves around water sports and is passionate about sharing it with the next generations.
And she speaks from a foundation that has seen her become a continental and national triathlon champion and earning national colours in biathlon, aquathlon and duathlon as well as qualifying for the Olympics in 2000.
Born in Cape Town, she moved to Durban in 2004 and between 2013 and 2022, with the help of her team, helped train more than 5,000 disadvantaged youngsters when she headed the Durban North satellite club of the renowned Seals Pietermaritzburg swimming outfit, run by SA’s Olympic coach Wayne Riddin.
She moved back to the Mother City in 2022 with her daughter Rachael (a national age-group figure skating champion) when the ice rink in Durban failed to reopen after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I strongly believe every child has the potential to be a good swimmer — not necessarily at Protea or Olympic level — and that’s what I’m striving to achieve and to just make a difference in kids’ lives,” she says.
“The lessons I’ve learnt — discipline, sacrifice and the ability to overcome adversity — have been far-reaching, not just in competition but in every aspect of life. Coaching young athletes, seeing their potential and guiding them towards greatness, is my true calling. The impact of sport is far beyond the moment of victory; it’s about empowering individuals to discover strength they never knew they had and to contribute to something greater than themselves.”
Dominique Donner-Rodd's life has revolved around water sports. Picture: SUPPLIED
To this effect, she’s headed up the aquatics hub at Curro Century City after her return to Cape Town since late 2022. “My swimmers here are very much in the development phase but on paper we are the best swimming club in the Western Cape … we’ve just won the Western Cape championships and won district champs.”
Our discussion then turns to the world’s biggest open water swimming event, the annual aQuellé Midmar Mile, managed by Riddin that takes place on February 7-8, with about 15,000 entrants.
It’s an event in which Donner-Rodd has been involved in so many ways, historically as well as fundraising.
“I started swimming Midmar late in my career, because coming from Cape Town, Midmar was never a huge deal, being so far away. I started swimming it in 2014 when I was also the project manager for the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation where I raised money for the cause of saving lives and educating young and old about water safety.”
She did that for five years, using the Midmar Mile as a platform.
“Then I helped the [Olympic gold medallist] Chad le Clos Foundation and he’s going to be there at Midmar this year for the first time in a while, and then the last two years I’ve been with the Frankie [a giant green frog] and Friends cause, quite a new drive, but also about water safety and awareness.”
This year will be the 11th time she’s swum the eight-mile charity event at Midmar and she’s a multiple winner in various age group categories from 30+ upwards.
The Donner-Rodd genes are involved in more than one Midmar moment though; daughter Rachael in 2019 became the youngest swimmer to complete the Midmar Mile, aged six.
“Rachaelwas in grade 1 and told us [herself and husband Michael] in no uncertain terms that she wanted to swim Midmar … we were paranoid but she was so determined.
“I told her she had to train for this event and be able to swim 64 laps of a 25-metre pool without stopping.
“True as Bob she did it … we lined up at Midmar and swam together, completing it in 1hr 03 min. I remember I swam side-stroke all the way to keep a close eye on her —and was so stiff from the side-stroke that I couldn’t walk for a week.”
Rachael has participated in the event ever since, though not competitively as she focuses on figure-skating.
The Donner-Rodds’ other offspring, Luc, is a keen amateur soccer player and is focusing on his sustainable development studies at Stellenbosch University.
And then there’s the rock in Dominique’s life — Michael Rodd, who has his own sporting career to boast of as well as feeling passionate about putting back into sport and business fields alike, as he divides his time between the Outworx Centres in Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
“I found at the age of 14 that exercise and, specifically for me, weight training, had a profound impact on my childhood depression. While I was training, my mood was elevated and I felt as close to what I would expect normal felt like. But after the session had ended, the dark cloud would return.”
Back to gym he went and the results spoke for themselves. “In 1985, I won the Jr Heavyweight Mr SA title but I found it difficult to switch my focus from how training made me feel to how it made me look.”
That took him down many rabbit holes into the human psyche.
“I studied everything from psychology to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP); cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT); neuroscience; life coaching, where I was able to find my answers and develop my PEAK Performance Framework.
“Since then I have coached hundreds of people, from CEOs to drug addicts, pensioners to prisoners, anorexics to the obese, and people suffering with depression and anxiety, using this framework. Using this framework, I realised my own dream of standing on the Mr Universe stage in London in 2001 where I placed top 10 in the world.”
Brawn, brain, training … all part of the Donner-Rodds’ life lessons. But without ever forgetting to “feel” the difference that people can make in other people’s lives.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
MARK ETHERIDGE: After reaching water sports pinnacle, Donner-Rodd gives back
The former continental and national triathlon champion now fuels her passion by teaching children to swim
By her own admission, sports personality Dominique Donner-Rodd doesn’t get out much at all these days — so it’s quite apt she found time to sing along to Feel, her favourite song from UK pop star Robbie Williams’ 2002 album Escapology as he performed at the Cape Town Stadium this week.
Donner-Rodd, now 54, has had a life that revolves around water sports and is passionate about sharing it with the next generations.
And she speaks from a foundation that has seen her become a continental and national triathlon champion and earning national colours in biathlon, aquathlon and duathlon as well as qualifying for the Olympics in 2000.
Born in Cape Town, she moved to Durban in 2004 and between 2013 and 2022, with the help of her team, helped train more than 5,000 disadvantaged youngsters when she headed the Durban North satellite club of the renowned Seals Pietermaritzburg swimming outfit, run by SA’s Olympic coach Wayne Riddin.
She moved back to the Mother City in 2022 with her daughter Rachael (a national age-group figure skating champion) when the ice rink in Durban failed to reopen after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I strongly believe every child has the potential to be a good swimmer — not necessarily at Protea or Olympic level — and that’s what I’m striving to achieve and to just make a difference in kids’ lives,” she says.
“The lessons I’ve learnt — discipline, sacrifice and the ability to overcome adversity — have been far-reaching, not just in competition but in every aspect of life. Coaching young athletes, seeing their potential and guiding them towards greatness, is my true calling. The impact of sport is far beyond the moment of victory; it’s about empowering individuals to discover strength they never knew they had and to contribute to something greater than themselves.”
To this effect, she’s headed up the aquatics hub at Curro Century City after her return to Cape Town since late 2022. “My swimmers here are very much in the development phase but on paper we are the best swimming club in the Western Cape … we’ve just won the Western Cape championships and won district champs.”
Our discussion then turns to the world’s biggest open water swimming event, the annual aQuellé Midmar Mile, managed by Riddin that takes place on February 7-8, with about 15,000 entrants.
It’s an event in which Donner-Rodd has been involved in so many ways, historically as well as fundraising.
“I started swimming Midmar late in my career, because coming from Cape Town, Midmar was never a huge deal, being so far away. I started swimming it in 2014 when I was also the project manager for the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation where I raised money for the cause of saving lives and educating young and old about water safety.”
She did that for five years, using the Midmar Mile as a platform.
“Then I helped the [Olympic gold medallist] Chad le Clos Foundation and he’s going to be there at Midmar this year for the first time in a while, and then the last two years I’ve been with the Frankie [a giant green frog] and Friends cause, quite a new drive, but also about water safety and awareness.”
This year will be the 11th time she’s swum the eight-mile charity event at Midmar and she’s a multiple winner in various age group categories from 30+ upwards.
The Donner-Rodd genes are involved in more than one Midmar moment though; daughter Rachael in 2019 became the youngest swimmer to complete the Midmar Mile, aged six.
“Rachael was in grade 1 and told us [herself and husband Michael] in no uncertain terms that she wanted to swim Midmar … we were paranoid but she was so determined.
“I told her she had to train for this event and be able to swim 64 laps of a 25-metre pool without stopping.
“True as Bob she did it … we lined up at Midmar and swam together, completing it in 1hr 03 min. I remember I swam side-stroke all the way to keep a close eye on her — and was so stiff from the side-stroke that I couldn’t walk for a week.”
Rachael has participated in the event ever since, though not competitively as she focuses on figure-skating.
The Donner-Rodds’ other offspring, Luc, is a keen amateur soccer player and is focusing on his sustainable development studies at Stellenbosch University.
And then there’s the rock in Dominique’s life — Michael Rodd, who has his own sporting career to boast of as well as feeling passionate about putting back into sport and business fields alike, as he divides his time between the Outworx Centres in Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
“I found at the age of 14 that exercise and, specifically for me, weight training, had a profound impact on my childhood depression. While I was training, my mood was elevated and I felt as close to what I would expect normal felt like. But after the session had ended, the dark cloud would return.”
Back to gym he went and the results spoke for themselves. “In 1985, I won the Jr Heavyweight Mr SA title but I found it difficult to switch my focus from how training made me feel to how it made me look.”
That took him down many rabbit holes into the human psyche.
“I studied everything from psychology to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP); cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT); neuroscience; life coaching, where I was able to find my answers and develop my PEAK Performance Framework.
“Since then I have coached hundreds of people, from CEOs to drug addicts, pensioners to prisoners, anorexics to the obese, and people suffering with depression and anxiety, using this framework. Using this framework, I realised my own dream of standing on the Mr Universe stage in London in 2001 where I placed top 10 in the world.”
Brawn, brain, training … all part of the Donner-Rodds’ life lessons. But without ever forgetting to “feel” the difference that people can make in other people’s lives.
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