PEORIA, Ill. – Get to know more about Nadia Potgieter.

Potgieter, originally from Pretoria, South Africa, had a strong start to her 2023 cross-country season, taking first at both the Western Illinois Alumni Invitational and the Bradley Intercollegiate.

Potgieter grew up playing a few different sports including swimming, but she found her love for running at eight years old with part of the credit going to her dad.

"My dad said, 'Hey do you want to try running?' I asked him how far should I run, and he said, 'Two times around the track' and I said that was way too far for me," Potgieter said, "The day I decided to try it, I just felt like myself and that I belonged there."

Her parents continued to be her biggest supporters, pushing her to be competitive and helping her find her passion for running.

"At first, I just did it because it was fun and my dad was actually my coach, so I didn't see it as such a competitive sport," Potgieter said, "When I got to grade four, my parents said maybe there's some sort of gift there.  I found a coach that I started to go to and I've been with that coach for 10 years since then."

In high school, Nadia suffered a navicular stress fracture in both of her feet that threatened her athletic goals, but she battled back with a new passion and outlook that benefitted her career as a whole.

"When I got to high school and I had a big injury, I definitely started to question if this was something that was going to happen.  After that injury, a new fire sparked in me and I got a new passion for running and a whole new perspective that this is not my whole life, but this is also a huge gift that I can use to reach out to other people and reach my full potential," said Potgieter.

Despite her success at Bradley, her transition from life in South Africa to Peoria was not easy. Still, she was able to take some valuable lessons away from the experience.

"The biggest adjustment was to be just physically so far away from my family because there's just something about finishing a race and being able to hug them," Potgieter said, "I had to learn how to be independent again, but I think that that was such a beautiful season in my life because it's part of growing up."

Potgieter was looking for a team that felt like a family and a coach that she could trust and she believed that she felt that with Bradley.

"I prayed so much about it, and this is the one place where I just felt that it could be a second home."

Now, as she starts her third year at Bradley, she firmly believes that she made the right choice as the relationships she has built with her teammates have been one of her favorite parts about Bradley.

"The amount of support that I get from the coaches on the good and the bad days, my team members whether the race went good or bad, or even just in training, they always treat me the same and they're not just teammates, they are friends for me and family for me."

Nadia has wanted to find a job in the health profession since she was young because of her love for people and wanting to help them, and she decided to major in nutrition and dietetics because of her former struggles with eating disorders.

"I considered doing medicine but then I went through a hard time with an eating disorder when I was younger and that sparked something in me that I want to go out there and help other people who have gone through the same thing because I know how it feels to be hopeless and I want to be a source for them to have some hope," Potgieter said.

Potgieter has certainly made an impact here as she continues to develop and make an impression on her teammates and coaches for the rest of her collegiate career.

"Nadia outwardly is probably one of the most positive people I have ever been associated with," head coach Andrew Carlson said, "More internally, Nadia brings a very focused attitude towards her work so while she's positive and supportive of others, she does bring a tenacity to the practice and racing setting that sets a strong example for everyone else."

Through all of her struggles and ups and downs through the injuries she has faced, Carlson is happy to see that Potgieter is still determined to find what works for her and what she needs to do to get better as she heads into the 2024 season.

"Nadia's one of those people that has a unique talent and gift to maintain this level of perspective through the ups and downs," Carlson said, "You know that you're always going to get her best effort."

Nadia is extremely grateful for all of the support that she has had up to this point in her career and is thankful to God for giving her the courage to take this "leap of faith" to come to Bradley.