Leigh-Ann Naidoo

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Leigh-Ann Naidoo Volleyball (beach)
portrait
birthday July 12, 1976
place of birth Durban, South Africa
size 1.81 m
Partner 2003–2004 Julia Willand
2007 Judith Augoustides
successes
2004 - Olympic participant
(As of May 18, 2013)

Leigh-Ann Naidoo (born July 12, 1976 in Durban ) is a South African beach volleyball player .

Career

Naidoo played her first international tournament in Acapulco in 1999 with Alena Schurkova . In 2003 she formed a new duo with Julia Willand . After a few unsuccessful tournaments and the Grand Slam in Berlin at the Bali Open, Naidoo / Willand reached the top ten for the first time in ninth place. In the same year they took part in the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro . After the opening win against Claasen / Deister , they qualified with the same point and set as the German duo for the first main round, in which they were defeated by the Americans Reynolds / DeNecochea and thus finished 17th.

In 2004 Naidoo / Willand achieved a 25th place at the Rhodos Open. The greatest success they achieved, however, with the qualification for the Olympic tournament in Athens . As the first South African beach volleyball team at the Olympics, they provided a novelty, but remained in a group with the later silver medal winners from Brazil without winning a set and had to say goodbye after the preliminary round.

Afterwards Naidoo was initially only active in Chicago . The lesbian athlete was denied participation in the Gay Games 2006 due to an injury to her cruciate ligament . In 2007 she returned and formed a duo with Judith Augoustides , nee Deister. Naidoo / Augoustides played some grand slams and open tournaments. They achieved their best result with rank 25 in Montreal . They were the only African duo represented at the World Cup in Gstaad . They won against the Japanese Saiki / Kusuhura , but had to admit defeat to the two US duos in the group and were therefore eliminated after the preliminary round. They then completed the Grand Slam in Klagenfurt before Naidoo ended her career.

Social Commitment

Naidoo's father Derrick was one of the first South Africans to campaign for equality in sport and founded the country's first non- racial volleyball club . Following his example, the daughter also campaigned against apartheid . Before the 2004 Olympics, Naidoo publicly admitted her homosexuality . Two years later she was ambassador and keynote speaker for the Gay Games in Chicago. When homosexual marriage was legalized in South Africa in late 2006, Naidoo married her partner, Kelly Gillespie.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Lori Selke: The 11 Most Powerful Lesbians in Sports. Curve, accessed May 18, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME Naidoo, Leigh-Ann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African beach volleyball player
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH Durban , South Africa