Motocross champion Jenna Bohling took the sport to new levels recently when she represented Zambia in the South African League National Championship in Durban thanks to support from Proflight Zambia.
The airline sponsored Jenna Bohling with flights to Durban where she participated in the competitive South African League National Championship.
Jenna recently won the Zambian Motocross competition and then went head to head on the track against Africa’s best women in the motocross competition in Durban.
Jenna flew with Proflight Zambia to Durban on July 20, 2017 on a direct flight from Lusaka that departed at 09:50hrs. Jenna, her father and trainer connected on to Pietermaritzburg from Durban where the competition was being held.
“We are proud to support and sponsor Jenna Bohling. Our very own Zambian Motocross Rider was participating in the third round of the South African League National Championship. Proflight is sponsoring her with return flights to Durban and four other additional flights on our domestic routes,” said Proflight Zambia’s Director of Government and Industry Affairs Captain Phillip Lemba.
Jenna lives in Ndola though she goes to school in Solwezi at Trident College boarding school. “I am currently in grade 11 studying the Cambridge system,” she said.
But what intrigued Jenna to join the Motocross Riding sport?
“I had two big brothers who were riding; when I was young I would go to the track and watch them ride. Until one day I said to them I want to do this as well: ‘if you can do it I can do it’. I started bike riding when I was three years old and from that time on I have found the Motocross Riding experience so fun.”
With steady growth and consistent training in the sport, Jenna has been doing motocross riding professionally for a few years now. “This year I have focused more on pursuing my motocross riding career at a high level in the sporting competitions. Motocrossing is what I have been wanting to do and I don’t see myself trading it for any other sport,” she said.
She is almost finished with school: only two years left until she completes her secondary studies to go further to study medicine and become a doctor. In a meantime, she continues with her motocross career alongside her academic studies.
Looking very enthusiastic at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport before departing for Durban, Jenna said: “Today am flying to Durban where I will be racing in the South African nationals. I am flying aboard Proflight along the Lusaka-Durban route with my dad who is on a Proflight flight coming from Ndola.”
She added: “Proflight has been kind enough by always being there for me whenever I needed support to exile in my motocross career. The airline has come out to help me on several occasions since last year when I went to represent Zambia in Kenya for the Motocross Challenge competition.”
This time, Proflight came further to support Jenna as she competed in the South African League Nationals in Pietermaritzburg, “I am so grateful to the airline for the kind gesture.”
“I am always accompanied by my father Kevin Bohling who is also my mechanic whenever I am participating at the motocross events. I love to have him around, especially when competing as he is always around to advise and give me moral support. The sport can get extremely tough at times. He does a great job with my bikes as he makes sure my bikes are 100 percent every time I go out onto the track.”
In any sport, growth means competing with the best. Africa has a lot of talent and Jenna got the opportunity to battle it out with Africa’s best on the motocross track: “It always feels quite strange when going out to compete outside the country for the Motocross competitions as am more used to the Zambian Competitions. But I love it because I get the opportunity to race with the best women in Africa.”
Over the years Jenna has been trained by many coaches from world champions and Germany champions and currently she is training with her new MX coach in South Africa. “My training has improved very much for the past few weeks since I started going out to train in South Africa with my new MX coach Drey.”
Motocross Riding is not an easy sport. Most people perceive it as a sport for guys, but Jenna dares to prove them wrong. She says, females can compete too in the sport and break records like the males have.
While in Pietermaritzburg for the competitions Jenna competed with great enthusiasm despite a crash with her bike in the first heat which saw her move from 5th position to 9th but still caught up as much as she could to get to the 6th position. On the second heat, she began very well on 5th position and on about the second last lap Jenna got taken out in the air before landing getting her shoulder dislocated though it got back in its position when she was put on the stretcher. Still the crush did not stop Jenna as she managed to cross the finish line to get on 7th position overall in the competition.
“All you need to be a motocross rider is to have lots of courage and remove the fear in your mind. In the motocross sport expect anything to happen and that’s why I love it so much.”
Jenna added: “I would just like to thank my sponsor Proflight for all the help! And to Geoff Den for the help on the track and as well as MX coach Drey for being there for me over the weekend. A huge thanks to my father for being there every step of the way.”
After a long weekend of Motocross Riding in South Africa, Jenna with her father returned to Zambia aboard Proflight Zambia on the Durban-Lusaka flight. They departed Durban airport aboard Proflight at 13:55hrs and landed in Lusaka Kenneth Kaunda International Airport at 13:55hrs and then connected to Ndola on the 17:30hrs flight.
Proflight flies to Durban three times a week using its 50-seater CRJ-100 aircraft. The flight takes just two hours and 30 minutes and schedules are arranged so that passengers can travel on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
About Proflight Zambia
Proflight Zambia was established in 1991 and is Zambia’s leading scheduled airline. From its base in Lusaka its domestic routes include Livingstone, Mfuwe, Lower Zambezi, Ndola, Kalabo, Solwezi, Kasama, Ndola-Solwezi and Ndola-Kasama flights and regional routes to Lilongwe in Malawi, and Durban in South Africa, with Mfuwe-Lower Zambezi between June 15 and October 31, 2017.
The airline prides itself in providing a safe, reliable, efficient and friendly service, and offering good value to business and leisure travellers locally and internationally.
The airline operates a 50-seater Bombardier CRJ-100 jet, three 29-seater Jetstream 41 aircraft, one 18-seater Jetstream 32 and two C208 Caravans.
More information is available at www.flyzambia.com.