Michelle Luscombe ended her discuss the way in which she began it: asking the viewers to really feel their pulse. “Can you’re feeling it? That’s proof you might be alive. Most individuals say life is simply too quick, however I believe life is lengthy.”
Luscombe is aware of what she’s speaking about. On the day of her presentation, she had been 13 years and eight months pain-free after enduring a sequence of life-threatening well being challenges that had practically ended her goals. As a substitute, they turned the muse for her to turn into a transplant athlete, motivational speaker, and a nationwide consultant at international occasions.
On 4 August, she was one of many three “dynamic and inspirational ladies”, alongside College of Cape City (UCT) scholar and triathlon star Rebecca Monk and long-distance Olympian Cian Oldknow, to share their wonderful tales on the ninth annual Girls in Sport discuss. Hosted by the UCT ParaSport Club in step with the Girls’s Month custom, the hybrid occasion served as a obligatory motivation for scholar athletes and workers alike to pursue their goals regardless of life’s challenges.
The Graaf Reinet-born Luscombe was a farm lady who beloved sports activities days greater than something. However shortly after ending a 1500 m race in 2001, her life shifted immediately when she collapsed. Inside minutes, she was strapped to life help, racing 400 km throughout the Karoo to succeed in a rescue jet ready on the nearest airport to take her to Crimson Cross Struggle Memorial Kids’s Hospital.
“Simply because somebody tells you it could actually’t be completed doesn’t imply it could actually’t.”
She was recognized with a uncommon coronary heart situation: arrhythmogenic proper ventricular cardiomyopathy. Her coronary heart would beat too quick, erratically, then cease altogether. Medical doctors implanted anan implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)which monitored her coronary heart and would ship an electrical shock to restart it when wanted.
At 12, she was instructed to not drive, journey alone, or chase the goals she as soon as had. However Luscombe refused to simply accept that her life was over. “Simply because somebody tells you it could actually’t be completed doesn’t imply it could actually’t.”
At 16, tragedy struck once more. She suffered a serious stroke that left her utterly paralysed. Alone in her hospital mattress, she closed her eyes and imagined her legs transferring till the gradual motion returned.
Her left arm by no means regained perform, however she tailored and taught herself to put in writing, eat, and reside with one hand. She returned to highschool with restricted mobility and an unpredictable coronary heart that might drop her at any second. By way of all of this, Luscombe held on to life with dedication.
Years later, she was recognized with end-stage coronary heart failure. The one choice left was a transplant, a present that gave her a second probability.
Slowly, she started to run once more and entered her first worldwide race. Her childhood goals of being an athlete had been not a fantasy however a actuality. Since then, she has received a number of medals for the nation, and subsequent week she is scheduled to take part within the World Transplant Video games in Germany.
“Life isn’t quick. It’s lengthy. It modifications. It challenges. Nevertheless it additionally surprises you – in the event you let it.”
When she invited the viewers to really feel their pulse, she was reminding them that being alive is a present. And with the proper mindset, it’s a present that retains giving. “Ache modifications your life. It shrinks your world. It takes away your power, your goals, your hope. I believed it could by no means finish.” However then one thing shifted. “I began small. I realized to take heed to my physique. To trace the great days and forgive those that weren’t.
“I finished chasing the model of myself I had misplaced. And as a substitute, I began constructing a brand new one. You study to note the little issues. You study that survival is a sort of triumph. So sure, life is lengthy. Lengthy sufficient to harm. Lengthy sufficient to heal. Lengthy sufficient to alter repeatedly.”
Chasing goals one step at a time
Oldknow’s path from college enjoyable runs to the Olympic Video games is inspirational. “I received a enjoyable run in Grade 3, and that was it – I used to be hooked. I beloved the sensation of successful. I beloved that feeling of operating and I used to be like, wow, I like this, and I’m going to maintain doing it,” she stated, becoming a member of the proceedings on-line. By Grade 5, she was racing at a nationwide stage.
“There are obstacles for ladies in operating. I need to assist ladies chase their goals. Everybody has goals – we simply have to go for it.”
However her teenage years introduced challenges: a dip in efficiency, her stepfather’s loss of life, and melancholy. “I used to be doing what I might, the place I might.”
In college, she centered on sports activities psychology. “Psychological well being is the whole lot. You possibly can’t carry out in the event you’re not in headspace.” And a shoulder surgical procedure setback couldn’t cease her. In 2017, she returned stronger. “I had unfinished enterprise. I gave each race my greatest.”
In 2022, Oldknow competed in Mauritius for the senior nationwide group. However catastrophe struck once more. “I dislocated my shoulder 100 m in. I spent 40 seconds attempting to get it again in, however I completed the race.”
One other surgical procedure adopted. In 2023, she competed on the World Cross Nation Championships and ran her Olympic-qualifying marathon. Then one other hurdle: a concussion and hip harm simply 16 weeks earlier than the Olympics. “I couldn’t run for 5 weeks. However I educated within the pool and on the bike. Once I ran once more, I simply ticked off the weeks.”
She made it to Paris. “At 10 km, I heard my household cheering and thought, ‘I’m having enjoyable.’ That pleasure carried me to the tip.” Now, she needs to provide again. “There are obstacles for ladies in operating. I need to assist ladies chase their goals. Everybody has goals – we simply have to go for it.”
Discovering a house in triathlon
For Monk, who’s pursuing her educational profession in geology and oceanography at UCT, household has performed a vital function in her exceptional profession, from introducing her to sports activities to supporting her in her success. “As a 13-year-old, I used to be a swimmer who had not too long ago began operating. Sometimes, we went biking alongside our mother and father. My uncle prompt that I attempt triathlons. He stated he’d enter if I did. I entered. He didn’t. However I did the race and thought, ‘That was the toughest factor I’ve ever completed!’ Unknowingly, that day set my largest life purpose.”
In highschool, she grew extra aggressive, however COVID-19 interrupted her progress. “However I stayed motivated. I entered a wet post-lockdown triathlon. I used to be terrified, however excited.”
Monk discovered her tribe within the Atlantic Triathlon Membership. By matric, she was inserting within the high three. She joined RUSH Athletics and began competing in duathlons, finally qualifying for World Champs in Ibiza, Spain. This yr, she represented South Africa on the 2025 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. “It’s been a tremendous journey,” she stated.
Nonetheless, one thing felt lacking. “My sister and I’ve a particular bond. She hates operating however loves swimming. She impressed me to hitch UCT Swimming.” However her largest supporter is her dad. “He’s the one waking up at 05:00, operating at the hours of darkness, chilly and rain with me. He listens to each race story. We did our first Ironman 70.3 collectively. I’m extraordinarily grateful for this. It has been actually particular to share my triumphant journey with him.”
