Kian Keylock (12) and Jaiden Staines (14), two young swimmers who swim for the Benoni-based Marsh Swimming Academy and Boksburg Aquatic Saints under the tutelage of respected coach Wade Marshall, are making a splash.
The duo represented Marshall’s academy and their swimming club at the South African National Junior Aquatics Championships at Kings Park Aquatic Centre in Durban in March.
The championships saw the country’s top age group swimmers from 12 years old to 18 years old battling it out in the pool.
Keylock swam 13 events, making 11 finals and medalling 10 times, and totally dominated the breaststroke age group events while he also proved successful in freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley.
The CBC Boksburg learner, who learned to swim at the age of eight through the Marsh Swimming Academy, has broken 13 age group records in Gauteng.
“The times he has been swimming, for a 12-year-old, are really, really fast,” said the coach.
“The gold medals he won were won by over 10m at least.
“Although it was a big workload, he was competitive in every event.”
Staines, a learner at St Dunstan’s College, who only moved into Marshall’s stable some 10 months ago, also impressed at the national event.
He bagged gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke events and bronze in the 200m breaststroke.
“We have only had Jaiden for a short time now and potentially we can get him a lot further,” said Marshall.
“He has had to adapt to the workload, changes in tactics and things like that, which I feel have been really good for him.
“I am very excited, both are showing great potential, but there is still a lot of hard work to do.
“It was nice to see their hours of effort paying off and it gives them something to come back to swimming for.”
Marshall added that each individual has their own challenges to conquer if they are to become top swimmers.
“A coach can only take you so far.
“I believe that our programme at Boksburg Aquatic Saints as a whole is working, but perhaps the biggest downfall in Easterns swimming is that there is not much of a competitive edge for the top guys.
“Not many swimmers know what it takes to become an elite athlete, the hours and the sacrifices they put in.
“They’ll need to be highly motivated and have a strong will to be the best.
For now, Marshall is practicing patience.
“We’ll take it one season at a time – there is no rush.
“At their age, we can’t really say what their main event in the future will actually be.
“Only time will tell.”
“Wade taught me how to swim,” said Keylock.
“When I got here I was very bad.
“Wade focused on me and taught me drills.”
Staines believes he is getting the best coaching, too.
“I enjoy training here,” said the Rynfield resident.
“It is well suited for me and more intense.
“I like a lot of things about this sport.
“Swimming is like meditation time for me,” he added.
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