A local Cape Town girl has won her very own gold – 12 year old Zara Wichman was named the regional best letter-writer for her letter to Olympic silver medallist Sasha Cohen.
Wichman earned prize money of R5 000 for herself and R15 000 for her school, Star of the Sea Convent Shool, with her letter in the South African Post Office (SA Post Office) International Letter-Writing competition.
The topic for the 2012 letter writing competition was “write a letter to an athlete or sports figure you admire to explain what the Olympics mean to you.” The competition is run annually by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the winning entry from each country competes for the title of “best letter writer”.
Wichman chose to write her letter to Sasha Cohen and express her thanks and gratitude for being such a wonderful role model. In her letter she articulated the values of the Olympic Games, what the Games meant to her and how she was looking forward to supporting South Africa’s sporting heroes.
“I think that it is amazing how you took part in an event where absolutely EVERYONE was trying to achieve excellence and you did so well,” Wichman said in her letter. “I am well and truly amazed.”
The SA Post Office received thousands of entries for the International Letter Writing Competition and judging by the volumes of letters received, Olympic favourites are Oscar Pistorius, Caster Semenya and Natalie du Toit.
“The South African Post Office is delighted by the letters received. Learners showed remarkable insight into the history of the Olympic Games and what they symbolise,” said Martie Gilchrist, SA Post Office regional communication manager. “It was encouraging to see the children so enthusiastic about our Olympic team.”
Zara Wichman with SA Post Office regional communication manager, Martie Gilchrist Photographer: Post Office
