Leigh-Ann Naidoo
| Leigh-Ann Naidoo | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nationality |  South Africa |
| Born | July 12, 1976 Durban, South Africa |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) |
Leigh-Ann Naidoo (born 12 July 1976 in Durban) is a South African beach volleyball player.[1]
Naidoo began her career at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 1999 attending only the Acapulco Open alongside Alena Schurkova.[2] Already with partner Julia Willand she attended more stages in the 2004 season culminating with the participation in the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens.[2] They lost all three matches in the group stage and did not advance to the medal round.[1]
Personal life
Naidoo currently resides in Johannesburg and has been married to Kelly Gillespie since 2007. Before the 2004 Olympics she became known publicly for her homosexuality and two years later she was ambassador and keynote speaker of the Gay Games, in Chicago.[3]
Naidoo is an anti-Israel activist and in 2016 participated in an attempt to break the internationally backed maritime blockade of Hamas controlled Gaza. The vessel, the Zaytouna-Oliva, did not carry any humanitarian aid. [4] She was detained by Israeli authorities, processed and returned to South Africa within a day.[5] Prior to the naval interception of the vessel, Naidoo pre-recorded a video message claiming that she had been "kidnapped" by Israel's authorities.
References
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Leigh-Ann Naidoo". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Leigh-Ann Naidoo Season Summaries 1999-2007". Beach Volleyball Database. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- ^ "Leigh-Ann Naidoo profile". Federation of Gay Games. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ http://www.israellycool.com/2016/10/08/devastating-admission-the-reason-gaza-boat-did-not-bring-any-aid/
- ^ http://www.vocfm.co.za/sa-activist-released/
External links
- Leigh-Ann Naidoo at the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball database
 | This biographical article relating to volleyball in South Africa is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Living people
- 1976 births
- South African beach volleyball players
- Olympic beach volleyball players of South Africa
- Beach volleyball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Sportspeople from Durban
- Lesbian sportswomen
- LGBT volleyball players
- LGBT sportspeople from South Africa
- South African sportspeople stubs
- African volleyball biography stubs