Back in 2012 a pair of six-year-olds walked into the Centurion Wrestling Gym, where they started their journey with a then-18-year-old coach, writes MARK LEMKE. Now, Rohan du Plessis (19), Jaun Hugo (19) and coach Shane Goosen (31) are headed for the 2025 African Continental Championships in Casablanca, Morocco, where they will be receiving their senior Proteas colours.
It’s a heart-warming story of trust and dedication, with this unit being together for over a decade and aiming to continue this path with eyes set on the 2028 LA Olympics.
Du Plessis and Hugo train daily, building muscle, improving their conditioning, and perfecting the technique by sparring their peers. Their efforts have seen them compete continentally in African Championships, as well as internationally in World Championships. Coach Goosen has been with them every step of the way, dedicating his time and effort into crafting the two young wrestlers into the best versions that they can be, both on the mat and off.
This is their story.
Rohan du Plessis
Du Plessis began his wrestling journey at the age of four in a tent outside his local church. The 19-year-old business management student at Akademia Centurion, fell in love with wrestling from the moment he stepped foot on the mat. “I was always one of the smaller kids in my grade and it made rugby tougher to compete in. With wrestling, I did not need to be the biggest and it came naturally to me. It helped me to grow physically and as a person.”
The 61kg wrestler’s hard work has found him success on the continental and global stage. He has three medals at the African Championships, with the most recent medal being bronze at the 2024 rendition in Alexandria, Egypt. He has also competed twice in the U17 World Championships, in Turkey and Italy.
Du Plessis’ goal is to become a top ten wrestler in the world at the 2028 LA Olympics. The next step on this path comes at the 2025 African Championships, where he will be competing in the junior and senior competitions. He is looking to win the juniors and announce himself as a serious competitor in the senior category.
Jaun Hugo
Hugo was introduced to wrestling because he was not allowed to play contact sports due to a medical condition as a young child. “My mom got me involved me in wrestling when I was four and the more I did it the more I fell in love with it. I could never see myself doing anything else. What I love most about it is the lessons it teaches you about life. I have learnt how to work hard, and I have learnt to handle losses when you are faced with them.”
His love for wrestling led him to Centurion Wrestling Gym at the same time as Du Plessis. He has been there ever since and the 70kg wrestler is striving to achieve more medals in wrestling, similar to his third place at the 2024 Junior African Championships. His goals branch away from wrestling as his dream is to compete in the featherweight division of the UFC.
Shane Goosen
Goosen was once a competitive wrestler, preparing for Youth Olympics at the age of 17, before he suffered a devastating knee injury which meant he could no longer wrestle. Despite this career ending injury, Goosen did not let it end his journey in wrestling. “After my injury, I got into the coaching side of the sport. I have a great understanding of wrestling techniques which helped me become a very good coach. I took over as the head coach of Centurion at the same time that Rohan and Jaun joined, so I helped them grow into the wrestlers they are today.”
The 31-year-old, who works in private security, has climbed up the coaching ranks, earning his Protea colours. He has the goal of going to the 2028 Olympics as a member of the coaching team to help the wrestlers fly the South African flag with pride. The next step on that journey is the 2025 African Championships and he is confident Du Plessis and Hugo will achieve their best continental results to date.
These three Proteas are all striving to make headlines for their country. However, they are all motivated to do so by different means.
Du Plessis says, “My biggest motivator is my reputation. I do not mean in the sense of what I achieve on the mat, but rather the impact I make on the people I meet. I try to greet every person and every competitor in the gyms I go to. The respect and friendships that I build with people in the wrestling community is what fulfils all the hours I dedicate to wrestling.
Hugo says, “I am motivated by my family and friends. The achievements in wrestling that I am most proud of are because of how much they mean to my family. I want to achieve more in wrestling as a way of saying thank you to them.
Goosen says, “My biggest motivator are the guys I coach. I want them to achieve the best they can in competition. It brings me so much pride to see them excel. I am also driven by helping them become better people off the mat. I try to teach them hard work and respect, and seeing the people they are becoming makes the hard work worth it.”
The trio head to Casablanca on 28 April for the African Championships where they are looking to bring home junior and senior medals in their South African colours. Following the trip to Morocco, they will be back to training to continue their upward trajectory in the wrestling world. The end goal for them is to compete in LA in 2028 and showcase to the nation that hard work and friendship can lead to the greatest of success.
