Wheelchair tennis player

Kgothatso Montjane knows what it takes to be a champion. Unbeaten by any other South African, Montjane has been the number one seed for South African wheelchair tennis women since 2005 and ranks in the top 10 internationally.

A consummate professional at 24, Montjane practises at least three hours every day, in between attending lectures in retail business management, and has represented South Africa at World Cup and Paralympics meets since 2008. It’s not easy being a full-time student and a professional athlete, but Montjane is used to challenges.

She was born with a congenital deformity of one leg and hands, and her other foot was amputated when she was just 12 years old. Of course it wasn’t long, despite a prosthetic leg, before she was winning trophies for ballroom and Latin-American dance. Because that’s who she is — a born champion and South Africa’s 2011 South African Sportswoman of the Year with a disability.

— Cat Pritchard

Website: tennis.co.za