Swimmer takes on eight mile challenge

GLENMORE’S Megan Lombard will be taking on the 2019 Midmar 8 Mile to raise funds for charity next month.

Megan, a Grade 12 learner at Maris Stella, started open water swimming at the age of 10 and fell in love with the sport. This will be the eighth year that she has swum the Midmar Mile.
“Quite a few of my friends have done the 8 Mile challenge and I was keen to do it for my eighth Midmar Mile. I will swim four miles on Saturday, 9 February and the next four miles on Sunday, 10 February,” she said.

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She swam the Midmar Mile for CHOC last year and raised R4 000 and also took on the Capital K Open Water Swim at Midmar Dam at the end of November last year. “I usually do the Midmar Mile in 24 minutes and completed the Capital K 3km event in 47 minutes. I really enjoyed the Capital K, so I’m sure I will enjoy the 8 Mile,” she said. She has been training hard for the event, swimming at school and 3km in the morning at the Tesoriere Pool in Umbilo.

“I have to do a lot of distance swimming to make sure I can do it on the day,” she said. Megan said the event was a special one, and that not just anyone could take part. There will be 50 swimmers taking up the challenge this year. My friend swam the 8 Mile last year and I got in contact that way to inquire how to enter. They asked for my Midmar Mile times and how many I had completed, and I was chosen to swim it,” she said.

Each swimmer is assigned to a charity for which they must raise funds. Megan has been chosen to support The Friends of Swimmers Trust, which does work around the country raising awareness about drownings and water safety.

“I have been swimming since the age of four and am aware of how important it is to be safe in the water, so this is the perfect charity for me,” she said.(—BREAK—)(—BREAK—)Megan, who has to raise R12 000 for the charity, has raised just over R3 000 so far. “I am encouraging businesses and individuals in the community to support me in this swim so I can raise funds for this good cause. People can get a tax certificate from donations so they can claim back,” she said.

Anyone interested in helping with donations can click on the link https://kydrin.co.za/goals/604

Contact Louis Lombard on 074 286 7811.

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