Namita Nayyar:
It is a dream for a rugby player to play in the Olympic Games and win. You won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Tell us more about this spectacular achievement of yours.
Jazmin Felix-Hotham:
It definitely has been a dream of mine for sure. In 2018, two weeks out from the Youth Olympics, I dislocated my shoulder, so I was heartbroken to miss that. And then in 2020, I was selected as a traveling reserve player for the Tokyo Olympics. It was a very different experience since it was COVID at the time. I wasn’t allowed to stay in the village and had to stay isolated in a Tokyo hotel room, still preparing to play just in case I needed to be called into the playing team for injury cover. It was super special watching the girls through the TV screen win their gold medal, but I also really wanted to be within the team achieving it alongside them. It was a lot of fuel to ensure the next Olympic opportunity, I was putting on the jersey, playing with my team.
I remember even having my coach’s selection meeting to find out if I had made the team. I was super nervous and cried as soon as they told me. The whole Olympic experience was crazy. From being in the village seeing absolute sporting icons like Simon Biles and Rafael Nadal to playing in front of a women’s rugby record-breaking 70,000 spectator crowd. One of the biggest highlights was having so many of my family members and best friends fly across to watch. We unfortunately don’t have a home tournament on the World Series, so they rarely ever get to see me play live.
My sister, who I didn’t think was coming, surprised me in the crowd after our quarter-final. I cried so many times just being able to hug them after each game. They’re the ones that have supported and guided me through my sporting journey from when I was a kid, so it meant the world having them there to watch me fulfill my dream. I also remember when the final whistle was blown and we kicked the ball out, I just straight away chucked my hands up and ran straight to the closest player next to me, crying and jumping on them.
Namita Nayyar:
You are the world-leading International Rugby Player and played for the New Zealand Rugby Sevens squad. In 2017, you helped guide Hamilton Girls’ seven team to a National title before starring in the New Zealand under-17 team that won the World School Sevens. Elaborate on this landmark in your Rugby playing career.
Jazmin Felix-Hotham:
It’s quite funny, so in 2017, I actually fractured my wrist a week before our High School Nationals, so I was put in a cast and told I wouldn’t be able to play. I still went with the team to help support the,m and then the night before the tournament started, I just had this burst of adrenaline with the girls and was like ‘Nah let’s cut the cast off. I want to play.” So I cut it off, and the next morning went to my coach and said I’m ready to go. The Physio wasn’t too happy and told me the risks of playing, but I was super stern in saying I was willing to take the risk and to strap it up. And yeah, we ended up winning.
Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine? You may wish to share.
Jazmin Felix-Hotham:
Our team is centralized, so we all live and train full-time together Monday- Friday in Mount Maunganui. Fitness conditioning is incorporated into our daily training through various conditioning games, and output is calculated through a GPS unit that each of us wears. Some days are dedicated to speed, so we will test our speed through lights, or we will test our fitness by doing a bronco test. Sprinting and speed are a massive part of our game, so every day we spend time doing a series of sprint primers and drills.
In the gym, we will do various exercises depending on the area our strength and conditioning coach is trying to target for that day (E.g., acceleration, deceleration, strength, or power). Between field and gym sessions, we’ll quite often have a watt bike session that we need to complete.
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