BIOSKETCH
Dr Phathokuhle Zondi is a specialist Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) Physician, academic and health systems leader with diversified experience spanning elite athlete care, medical governance, medical education and health systems development. She currently leads the development of Sport and Exercise Medicine within the School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), where she is responsible for establishing SEM as a recognised academic and clinical discipline within the College of Health Sciences including specialist training, undergraduate teaching, research capacity, clinical services and strategic partnerships. Dr Zondi has worked in elite sport for over a fifteen years, serving as Chief Medical Officer for Team South Africa at major multi-sport events since 2010, including the Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth, World and Youth Olympic Games. She has extensive experience across multiple sporting codes in high-performance strategy, injury management and preventive athlete care, and is also involved with World Rugby as a Senior Medical Trainer, Tournament Team Physician and Match Doctor at various World Rugby tournaments. She is the Secretary General and a founding Council Member of the College of Sport and Exercise Medicine of South Africa, where she contributes to specialist training and the advancement of the discipline nationally. She also serves as Associate Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, one of the world’s leading journals in the field. Internationally, she serves on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Expert Group for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and has been invited to join the Scientific Committee for the 2027 IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport. She also chairs the Women’s Health Subcommittee of Rugby Africa’s Player Welfare Committee, leading initiatives to advance female athlete health across the continent. As an educator, Dr Zondi teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at UKZN and other South African Universities, and contributes internationally as faculty on the IOC Advanced Team Physician Course and the IOC Diploma in Sports Medicine. Her research interests centre on female athlete health, athlete welfare, injury prevention, implementation science, and the development of sustainable SEM services within African health systems — with a particular focus on translating research into practical health system solutions that improve access to Sport and Exercise Medicine across Africa. Her past leadership roles include CEO of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (2016 – 2020), Chairperson of SASCOC’s Medical Advisory Commission (2016–2024), President of the South African Sports Medicine Association (2015–2017), Director at The Sharks Rugby (2021–2024), and Director at the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (2017–2023). An accomplished endurance athlete, she has completed numerous ultra-marathons, multi-stage cycling events and triathlons, and has summited Mt Kilimanjaro. She is also a sought-after public speaker, delivering keynote presentations nationally and internationally on leadership, change management, the business of sport, and clinical sports medicine topics. In recognition of her contributions, Dr Zondi received a Ministerial Recognition Award in August 2017, and was named a Mail & Guardian Businesswoman of the Year in 2023. She was selected as a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative – South Africa (ALI-SA), part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and participates in the Durban City Leadership programme, collaborating with leaders across sectors to address complex societal challenges through values-based leadership.
