Thipe was one of the first black women to represent South Africa on the track when she competed in the 400 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

[2] She ran in the sixth heat against seven other athletes, including Jamaica's Novlene Williams and Great Britain's Nicola Sanders, both of whom were heavy favorites in this event.

She finished fifth in the final of the 400 metres at the 2012 African Athletics Championships in Porto Novo, Benin; however, her time of 52.26 seconds was insufficient to secure her place at the Olympics.

[7] She blamed the national team's doctor for prescribing her a contraceptive pill called Norlevo, which contains the banned substance,[2][8] and slammed Athletics South Africa (ASA) for their failure to follow correct procedure by disclosing the results of her doping test to the media before convening a hearing in which she could defend herself.

She is trained by her husband, Eugene Thipe, who also coaches sprinter and national record holder Simon Magakwe, a three-time finalist at the African Athletics Championships.