“When I was a runner all my energy went into that. Now my family is really important, the work that i do is really important. I really find it challenging but it’s all about prioritising and being realistic.”

to wait another eight years to realise her dream which saw her receive a silver medal after a titanic battle with Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Ever the optimist, Meyer is not bitter about missing out on earlier Olympic Games. ‘When I look back I know I would have benefited from the experience of previous Olympic Games. But in 1984 I would have been a number in the race. I would have been there, gained experience and wouldn’t have made an impact. But I know that I’ve had a good international career. I still had the opportunity to go to three Olympic Games.

like Mathews Temane, Johan Fourie – and I can keep on naming them – who were just in that window of 30 years of isolation. They didn’t have the opportunity to go to one Olympic Games. So I’m very thankful for the opportunity that I had. In many ways it worked in She was young, naïve and not well managed. Sport is politics. You’re never going to be able to separate the two. It’s been like that forever and I can’t see that changing.’

20 Management Today | August 2011 ‘There are great runners

at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1993 when she was expected to win, taught Meyer a valuable lesson. ‘You have to operate in the moment. In my mind I jumped to the end of the race, thinking, ‘how am I going to win this race?’’ and I quit. What did I need to do then? Get out of the trouble (she was being jostled by a Kenyan runner), reposition, focus on your own breathing, adjust things in the current moment rather than jump to the end.’

picture has stood Meyer in good stead. Rather than being a career-ending setback, even her failure to finish the race at the World Championships gave her a new perspective. ‘I was hoping that it had been a dream and I still had the chance to run the race. I didn’t know what to do so I actually went for a run the next day.

dawned on me that the sun is still out. In my own world everything plummeted. It was the most important thing I had failed to achieve. It was just horrible. But then I just

‘While I was running, it Her ability to see the bigger Quitting the 10 000m race

thought that in terms of life, in terms of the universe, nothing has changed. So what I do is not that important. It gave me a reality check. I went on and had another 10 years at the highest level and it really integrated a new level of enjoyment into my running because I made conscious decisions.’

always be associated with JAG as a patron, when the time comes to move on any future role will involve her passion for sport, performance and wellness. ‘Business people often over-invest in business and get to the age of 40 and haven’t spent time with their children.’ She is also still in awe of the power of events as she recalls her first 21.1km race, the Foot of Africa in Bredasdorp, which she ‘won’ as a 13-year-old but was disqualified as she was below the minimum age to enter a half marathon. She also looks forward to a time when she is also able to complete her Master’s degree in marketing which she put on hold when she got the opportunity to race internationally. Then along came the Foundation

While Meyer says she will