LOCAL swimmers will represent South Africa when they leave Durban on 14 August with the intellectually impaired swimming team to take part in the INAS World Swimming Championships in Noumea, New Caledonia.
The swimmers, Aaron Putz from Seagulls Swimming Club, Cornelia Fowler from Kloof Swimming Club, Cindy Mkhize from Seals Swimming Club and Sipho Majoka from Westville Swimming Club, will swim in the championships, under national coach, Jean Nortje.
Aaron, is the youngest in the team, and this will be his first international event. He has great hopes to achieve in the open water and 200m and 400m individual medley.
Cornelia is the most senior member in the team and has been swimming internationally since 1998. She specialises in the open water and long distance freestyle events.
Cindy will be representing South Africa for the second time, specialising in breaststroke.
Sipho, is an experienced swimmer who has represented South Africa since 2005 and is one of the top swimmers in the team. His speciality is freestyle and butterfly sprints.
The team has been in an high intensity training camp, swimming for four hours a day for the past three weeks, in preparation for the event.
The coach has high hopes for medals at the championships, especially for the women’s relays. The team has entered five men’s and women’s relays at the event.
At the previous championships in Italy in 2011, the women won medals in all five relays and the men in three.
For the first time at the championships, an open water 1.5km surf swim in the Pacific has been introduced, and the Midmar Mile medalists in the team are looking forward to this.
