Sport AND Resilience with KG Montjane, one of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players
05/29/23 • 28 min
KG Montjane overcame many challenges to become one of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players and the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon. Ilham and KG talk about her incredible journey including her introduction to wheelchair tennis at the age of 19, her desire to help others, the importance of inclusion in sport, business and life, her advice to young people and much more. What a fantastic story of determination and resilience!
3:01- Introduction to tennis
6:48 - First black African woman to play at Wimbledon
9:44 - Toughest challenges in tennis
12:56 - Responsibility to help others
14:31 - Challenges off the court
16:36 - Diversity, equity and inclusion in the world of sport
18:07 - Advice to young people
19:35 - Starting the Multi Sports Development Foundation to help underprivileged kids
21:24 - Importance of inclusion
25:24 - Hobbies outside of tennis
KG Montjane is one of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players. In fact, she is number 1 in Africa and number 4 in the World! In 2018, she became the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon. She was born in Polokwane, Limpopo. Due to a congenital birth defect, she went through a single amputation below the knee at the age of 12. She began her tennis career when she was 19, after receiving the equipment necessary for her to play wheelchair tennis.
For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast
KG Montjane overcame many challenges to become one of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players and the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon. Ilham and KG talk about her incredible journey including her introduction to wheelchair tennis at the age of 19, her desire to help others, the importance of inclusion in sport, business and life, her advice to young people and much more. What a fantastic story of determination and resilience!
3:01- Introduction to tennis
6:48 - First black African woman to play at Wimbledon
9:44 - Toughest challenges in tennis
12:56 - Responsibility to help others
14:31 - Challenges off the court
16:36 - Diversity, equity and inclusion in the world of sport
18:07 - Advice to young people
19:35 - Starting the Multi Sports Development Foundation to help underprivileged kids
21:24 - Importance of inclusion
25:24 - Hobbies outside of tennis
KG Montjane is one of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players. In fact, she is number 1 in Africa and number 4 in the World! In 2018, she became the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon. She was born in Polokwane, Limpopo. Due to a congenital birth defect, she went through a single amputation below the knee at the age of 12. She began her tennis career when she was 19, after receiving the equipment necessary for her to play wheelchair tennis.
For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast
Previous Episode
Strength, Courage AND Ambition: Women leaders at Solvay on their recipe for success
Ilham has a conversation with five incredible Solvay women – Daniela Manique, Bijal Mathkar, Natalia Baran, Seung-eun Lee, and Cheryl Staton – who will all be featured in a book soon to be published called Adèle and the Women of Solvay. They talk about the importance of saying yes to opportunities, their passion for education, achieving a good balance between work and their personal lives (including motherhood), their recipe for success and much more.
Adèle and the Women of Solvay, which will be published later this month, is about the women whose contributions and achievements, largely unrecognized until now, have shaped Solvay throughout its history. But importantly, it’s also about the amazing women at Solvay today who are paving the way to make the company more inclusive, diverse and prosperous. The proceeds from book sales will go to girls' education in less privileged locations around the world.
2:36 - Early childhood experiences and saying yes to opportunities
13:56 - Passion for education
30:57 - Work life balance / imbalance and becoming mothers
48:53 - Personal questions from their individual stories
59:45 - Recipe for success
The women featured in this podcast are all top leaders at Solvay. Daniela Manique is the President of the Global Business Unit Coatis and Head of Latin America. Bijal Mathkar, is the Research & Innovation Director in Vadodara in India. Natalia Baran is a Production Manager/Chemical Engineer at our site in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. Seung-eun Lee is the Director of the Research and Innovation Center in Seoul in Korea. Cheryl Staton is the Rewards Partner in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America.
For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast
Next Episode
Sport AND Perseverance: with Ambra Sabatini, the fastest Paralympic sprinter in the world
In this latest episode, Ambra Sabatini explains her incredible journey to become the fastest Paralympic sprinter in the world. She speaks to Ilham about her passion for sports, an accident that changed her life, her stunning victory at the 2020 Paralympic games, what business leaders can learn from athletes, her advice for young people and more!
2:13 - Upbringing and passion for sports
3:38 - Accident that changed her life
5:17 - Victory at the 2020 Paralympic games
8:33 - Toughest challenges
10:51 - What companies can learn from athletes
12:12 - Perfectly imperfect tattoo
13:34 - Diversity, equity and inclusion in sport
15:14 - Advice for young people
16:22 - What’s next?
17:55 - Interests outside of sport
20:39 - Strong support of family
Ambra Sabatini is the fastest Paralympic sprinter in the world. When she was only 19 years old she broke the world record, running 100 meters in just 14.11 seconds at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. And this is after she had already broken the world record a few months before in the Grand Prix in Dubai. In Tokyo, she also led Italy to a historic clean sweep in the women's 100m as her Italian teammates also won silver and bronze medals.
Ambra was born in Livorno Italy in 2002. On June 5th, 2019 she was involved in a car accident on her way to training and she had to undergo an amputation of her left leg above the knee...but she never gave up on her love for sport.
For additional details about the podcast, show notes, and access to resources mentioned during the show, please visit https://www.syensqo.com/en/podcast
AND is the Future - Making Businesses Sustainable AND Profitable - Sport AND Resilience with KG Montjane, one of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players
Transcript
Ilham Kadri: Hello everyone, today I am so happy to be speaking with KG Montjane, one of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players. In fact, she is number 1 in Africa and number 4 in the World! In 2018, she became the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon. We are beyond proud to sponsor KG as she continues to do amazing things. This is a special episode because KG is sitting right here with me today on Solvay’s campus to record this podcast and to meet and inspire our emp
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