Van Rooyen, who was representing the country as a senior member of team SA, competed in the shorter distance of her speciality event, the 50m backstroke in the open category.
She completed the race in 31.73 seconds, agonisingly missing the last spot on the medals podium behind Ingy Abouzaid from Egypt, who finished in 31.72 seconds.
Alexus Laird (30.68) from Seychelles and Algeria international Amel Melih (31.08) finished first and second respectively.
However, Van Rooyen’s performance and finishing position were made more impressive by the fact that she was competing against women multiple years her senior, and she was the youngest competitor in the race.
Quizzed on whether she was content with the outcome of her performance at the tournament, the St. Dominic’s Grade 8 pupil said: “I’m very satisfied with my performance and final position. I did my best and as a junior swimmer swimming at senior level, I went there to learn from the experience and doing my best while having fun.
“I didn’t go there expecting a win; when leaving the podium, there’s a path you have to use which leads you to fans. Some of them asked me for autographs; seeing the admiration from children was really captivating, that’s the one thing I took home.”
She earned qualification for the CANA Championships back in April during the Senior Nationals and Olympic qualifiers which took place in Durban, winning gold in the 50m backstroke. She also participated in the 100 and 200m events, as well as the women 4 x100m medley relay – finishing fourth, 11th and second respectively.
That outing was preceded by the African Junior Championships which took place in Cairo, Egypt, in October last year where she had earned her first selection to represent the country.
The event, which was only for elite youth swimmers, saw 18 countries do battle. There she participated in the 50 and 100m backstroke events where she won gold. She also competed in the 50m freestyle where she won bronze. Her relay team won gold for both the 4 x 100m freestyle and 4 x 100m medley relays.
They broke the African Junior records in both relay wins.
Van Rooyen obtained her elite youth status in 2013, aged 11. To be an elite youth swimmer, the swimmer is required to swim South African senior national qualifying times.
She’s also ranked first in the country for the 50 and 100m backstroke events in her age group. In the overall national rankings for women, she sits at 6th in the 50m backstroke and 4th in the 100m.
Her personal best times for the 50 and 100m are 30.36 seconds and 1.04.21 minutes, respectively.
Her swimming career took off when she was doing her primary schooling at Christ Church Preparatory School and College in Midrand. – @SabeloBoksburg
