Members of the Carletonville Swimming Club are in the last stages of preparing themselves for this year’s Midmar Mile on 8 and 9 February.
Three members, Annalisa Freese, Caitlin Doran and Markus Homan, will complete their tenth Midmar Mile this year, qualifying for green permanent numbers.
The swimmers say they could not have reached this success without their beloved coach, Oom Gerrie Grové, who passed away from cancer.”It will be our second year without him, and is it challenging; we miss him so much. I know he would have been so proud of us,” says Freese.
In honour of his legacy, she is raising money for Cansa (the South African Cancer Association) while doing eight miles this year.
“It is a cause very close to my heart, and I am proud to be selected for this event. We need to raise R10,000 and swim 6.4 km on 8 Feb and 6.4 km on the 9th. I will also be doing the Comrades Biathlon swim and family event on the 10th,” says Freese.
According to Freese, Michael Cuypers – another club member who had passed away – motivated her to do the charity swimming.
Meanwhile, various club members prepared for the Midmar during the Primeview Swim Challenge 2 at Prime View Adventure & Leisure at Olifantsfontein on 3 December.
It was the second seeding event for this year’s Midmar Mile
Minke Rheeder completed her 1.5 km swim in 30:32 min and came 39th of 126 swimmers overall. She also completed the 600 m fun swim in 12:09 min.
Carsten Holfelder did his 1.5 km swim in 32:58 min and came 59th of 176 swimmers overall. He also did the fun swim in 13:23 min. Carla Louw also completed the 1.5 km swim in 31:40 min and came 4th of 15 swimmers in the category and 50th of 176 overall.
Annalisa Freese completed the 3 km swim in 01:01:24 min and the 1.5 km swim in 29:49 min.
She came fifth of 30 swimmers in her category, 16th of the women swimmers and 28th of 176 overall. Dustin Pienaar completed his 1.5 km swim in 31:35 min and came 53rd of 126 overall.
Some local swimmers also participated in the Primeview Swim Challenge 1 – the first Midmar seeding event – on 5 November.
Pieter Steinmann completed the 1.5 km swim in 45:48 min, while Annalisa Freese did a total swim of 4.5 km for the day. She completed her 3 km swim in 01:03:05 and her 1.5 km swim in 32:08 min, earning her the second place of the 29 swimmers in her category. Carsten Holfelder completed the 1.5 km swim in a time of 32:57 min and the 600 m fun swim in a time of 13:27 min.The last seeding event for this year’s Midmar Miles happens on 21 January.
