Media statement: We mourn the loss of a champion of women's sport

It is with great sadness that we heard of the passing of the Olympic table tennis player and supporter of women’s sport, Cheryl Roberts.
 
Cheryl represented South Africa as a table tennis player at the 1992 Olympics. She remained a champion for all women’s sport in South Africa, using her social media and other platforms to promote sport and to raise important issues around transformation and representation. She continuously promoted female athletes and ensured more recognition for these athletes.
 
Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais, said: “Cheryl was a wonderful example of a woman who competed at a time when women’s sport was not given much recognition. She carried on with her passion for sport and became a voice for women in all sport. She constantly worked to make sure that women in sport would receive the recognition they deserve. She was a true role-model, not only to other female athletes, but to the sporting fraternity as a whole.”
 
Our condolences go out to Cheryl’s family, friends and all those who knew her through the sporting environment. Her voice will continue to be heard through all the promotion she did for women in sport in our country.