Meet brilliant young weight lifting champion Thomas Farquhar. He is balanced and such a wonderful Jesus champion. “I have committed to this sport. I have decided to focus on this discipline and be respectful of what my coach expects of me. I have dedicated my time and put aside going out to parties etc, because I am wanting to achieve something great. This is my dream”.
?CREDIT JACQUES MYBURGH
Athlete: Bio / Stats |
|
| Name & Surname | Thomas Farquhar |
| Nick Name | Thomo or Tom Tom |
| Date of birth | 16 August 1999 |
| Place of birth | PE |
| Current City | PE |
| Height | 1.83m |
| Weight | 87.3kg |
| Shoe Size | 9/9 1/2 |
| Club | Crossfit ECX |
| Coach’s Name | Mona Pretorius and Piet Pretorius |
| Out of Country events | All Africa Games, Algiers |
| Secondary Sport | Crossfit |
| Favorite Music | Deep House |
| Favorite Movie | Batman vs Superman |
| School & Grade | Grey High School, Grade 11 |
| Instagram names,
Facebook name |
@farquharthomas
Thomas.Farquhar |
| Parents Names, siblings | Parents Stuart and Jenny, sister Melissa, brother James |
INTERVIEW:
Q: You are passionate and doing so well in your Weightlifting tell me a little bit about how you started in Weightlifting and your journey in the Weightlifting arena up to now?
I started Crossfit as an assist sport for rugby, however my love for Crossfit grew. I stopped rugby to focus on my new “love”. I trained at the ECX Crossfit Box on the Sardinia Bay Road. Mona Pretorius is the owner of the box as well as a South African weightlifting champion. After training for about 2 months, Mona told me that I would be competing in an upcoming weightlifting competition, she said, “I won’t take no as an answer.” Little did I know that it was actually a SA Junior champs competition. After that competition my focuse shifted from Crossfit to weightlifting. Later that year I competed at the SA Senior Champs and won a silver medal.
Q: What is the highest accolade that you have achieved in Weightlifting and what is your greatest personal accomplishment?
My highest achievement so far is the Silver medal at the SA Senior Champs. I was also awarded a colour blazer at school which I wear with great pride.
Q: Why do you have so much respect for your coach?
Mona is totally focused. She is disciplined in all areas of her life, right from what she eats to how often she trains. This dedication has seen her dream of going to the Olympics later this year become a reality. Throughout all this, she still finds time to encourage and train me. She is mentally strong and does not let bad days get her down. This dedication to her sport and to me is something that I greatly admire.
Q: Where have you travelled to before, what are you highlights of these travels, and what does travelling do for your mindset/ perspective on things regarding your sport?
To date I have not travelled for the sport other than to Johannesburg. This was really exciting for me as it was the first time I had been on a plane. I would look forward to travelling in the future, I think to compete with other countries would be a really awesome but also daunting at the same time.
Q: What do you do to relax?
I enjoy going to the movies with friends when possible and also to hangout with guys at youth on a Friday night.
Q: Tell me one thing about yourself that the world does not know 🙂
I was born with an extra “digit” on my left hand 🙂
Q: What was the best advice you were ever given?
My dad always said, greatness is 2% talent and 98% hard work.
Q: What is your personal favourite motivational quote?
I have a few motivational quotes that I like, but the one that does it for me is “Be phenomenal or be forgotten”, another is “Don’t be afraid to close your eyes and dream but then open your eyes and see!”
Q: How do you currently manage to balance all the things in your life?
I am very fortunate at this stage, my life is not too complicated. My focus is school and training.
Q: What’s your WHY ?
My why – I have a desire to honour God, who has gifted me with this ability and talent. I have a desire to honour my parents and coach who have sacrificed for me to achieve in this sport. I have a desire to honour my school, who have recognised my achievement.
I want to be that light on hill for others to see and aspire too. I would like to be a role model for future athletes of the sport. I hope to contribute to SA Weightlifting by showing the youth that your background or circumstances do not determine your destiny.
Thank you so much for taking this interview. We would like to wish you all the best for your journey ahead. We look forward to following you as you go from strength to strength. Blessings!
NB – All images were supplied by the athlete to Heslop Sports. If there are any images that are not credited correctly, please email info@heslopsports.co.za with the details and we will gladly do so immediately.
