Maties HP Athlete/Player Profile: Justine Palframan : 2015-06-10
Justine Palframan
April was a good month for Stellenbosch University (SU) student and athlete Justine Palframan.
Not only was she crowned champion in both the 200m and 400m at the national track and field championships but a week later she also set her personal best times in both of these events (22.96s and 51.75s) – and this in front of her home crowd at the USSA event hosted at Coetzenburg in Stellenbosch.
These times qualify her for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China later this year and are also Boland provincial records.
At just 21 Justine Palframan is already a seasoned athlete with some very impressive sporting credentials. For example: She has competed in two IAAF World Junior championships, one World Youth Championships, one World Student Games, the 2013 IAAF World Senior Championships and the African Senior Championships.
As soon as she has completed her mid-year exams she will travel to Morocco for the IAAF World Athletics Challenge and from there go to Italy to run in Europe. She will also compete in the World Student Games in Korea.
Justine grew up in the rural hamlet of Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal where she excelled in both swimming and athletics. She comes from an athletic family. Her parents Steve and Trevlyn Palframan met on the track and both represented their province in sprinting. Her siblings Katelyn and David also both earned provincial colours for swimming and athletics.
Her father was her first coach and she trained on her school Eshowe High’s hockey field.
In her speech as guest of honour at the Boland Schools Sports Awards function in
November 2014 she mentioned that someone once told her parents that no top sportsman will come out of a small town like Eshowe because they don’t have the facilities. Justine is proof that this is not true. Her advice to the young sport stars was: “Don’t let people squash your dreams… you may not have the best of the best with regards to facilities, however, it comes from within yourself to really want to get there.”
She pays tribute to her family for being willing to put in the effort with her.
In January 2013 Justine enrolled for a BSc (Sports Science) degree at SU where she trains with her coach Mohamed Ally from Maties Athletics. She has known him since she was in primary school and he was one of the main reasons for her move to the Western Cape.
Justine’s dream is to represent South Africa at the Olympic Games. This year she has posted times that would qualify her for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, but her main focus is on 2020.
“Many of the top sprinters are in their late twenties and their experience counts in their favour,” she says. She admits that balancing studies and sport is not easy, especially when you want to do well in both.
“There is a time for studying and a time for training,” she adds. She is currently in her third year and has split her modules over two years to manage her academic load.
Balance, hard work and a willingness to ‘put in the effort’ is her advice for success.
It’s not easy, but up until now Justine doesn’t regret any sacrifices that she has had to make.
“It’s worth it,” she says.