Dr Zondi converts on rugby fields

Phathokuhle Zondi broke her first barrier when she took up a post as medical officer for the Blue Bulls

- Lyse Comins

From the sidelines of elite rugby fields and the Olympic Games to the boardrooms of sports and academic institutions, Phathokuhle Zondi has overcome formidable difficulties in carving out her place as a woman in sports medicine.

Zondi, 42, a sports and exercise medicine physician, has worked with some of South Africa’s greatest sportsmen and women and broken gender barriers when, at the age of 27, she joined the Blue Bulls rugby team as a junior medical officer.

She went on to work as a medical officer for the 2012 Junior Springboks team with players who became Rugby World Cup winners — Handré Pollard, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Bongi Mbonambi, Jesse Kriel and Vincent Koch among them.

She later clinched the job of chief medical officer for Team South Africa at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2016 Rio Paralympics, the 2017 World Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she worked with Caster Semenya.

At the age of 33 she was appointed chief executive of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, a position she held for four years.

As chair of the Medical Advisory Commission for the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (2016-2024) she guided athlete care and clinical standards. Zondi also served as president of the South African Sports Medicine Association from 2015 to 2017.

Her fast-paced progression in sports medicine has made her a trailblazer in a male-dominated field. She has a passion for sports — she grew up in a sporty family, her father having completed four Comrades Marathons — and its power to transform individuals.

“I was always very sporty. And at some point it was more than an interest. It was, like, I just love it. I love who I am on the field, what it makes me in terms of the connections, the friends, the contacts,” she said.