Alberton swimmers bring back medals from championships

Brian Gordon-Davis (69), Manfred Tepper (68) and André van der Merwe (51) from Alberton competed in the South African Masters’ Swimming (SAMS) National Championships in Cape Town from March 9 to 13.

All three of them and six other swimmers of the Mega Megalodons Club participated in SAMS.

The RECORD chatted to all them to find out more about their experience.

Swimming is like magic for Brian Gordon-Davis

Gordon-Davis brought back a bronze medal for his team in the medley relay for the 65-69 age group.
He has been a swimmer since 2000 and short distances are where his strength lies. He mostly competes in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle.

A highlight for him was when he finished seventh in the 50 to 60 age group at the Midmar Mile in 2005, with a time of 24 minutes and 56 seconds.

Swimming is magic to him.

“The best part is the fun, fellowship and fitness of the sport,” he said.

Maintaining record times and fitness has been a challenge for him, but he always tries to better his previous accomplishment. He has been living in Alberton since 1979 and loves to spend time with his children and two grandchildren.

The go-getter, Manfred Tepper

Tepper won a gold medal for 50m breaststroke, a silver medal for the 200m breaststroke and a bronze medal for the 4x50m medley relay for the 65-69 age group.

He has been swimming since the age of 12 and stopped swimming competitively after school. He started swimming again in 1994 before stopping again in 1998. In 2021, he again began to swim competitively.
He is keen on swimming in all long-distance styles.

“Swimming is a way of therapy to me. It is my time for myself,” he said.

For him, a challenge is trying to keep fit and be able to get up every morning for practice. One of Tepper’s highlights was when he competed at the senior nationals in Cape Town as a teenager.

“I set my best time for the 1500m back then, which was 16 minutes and 30 seconds.”

Tepper has been living in the Alberton area since 1977. He has been married for 44 years and is a proud father of three children and a grandfather of four grandchildren.

One to keep an eye on

André van der Merwe’s love for swimming started at a young age and kept on growing.

He obtained a gold medal in the 200m freestyle, a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke, a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke and a silver medal in the 4x50m freestyle relay.

Van der Merwe has been doing triathlons and biathlons professionally for many years. He injured his hand while mountain biking last year and started to swim again with his daughter.

“The best part is doing this with my daughter and sharing the love we both have for the sport. To be part of a sport where everyone shares their knowledge and where new friendships are built.”

A challenge for him has been time.

“I feel like there is not enough time to work, be a parent, attend a school or sports functions and practice my swimming. Sometimes I wish I had more hours in a day,” he said.

This year, van der Merwe not only completed the SAMS but also finished the Cape Argus.

A highlight for him was when he competed for Great Britain in triathlon, where he received a bronze medal in the World Long Distance Championships. Van der Merwe moved from London to Alberton in 2014. He has been married for 23 years and has a daughter and a son.

Be part of the fun

“We would recommend swimming to anyone, from young to old. Get into the water, learn to swim and be part of all the fun that goes with the sport. The list of benefits is long,” they said.

For them, it is a sport where the sky is the limit.

“Swimming can be competitive if you want it to be, but it is more a fun sport. It might look easy, but there are a lot of techniques to learn that can make it challenging at times,” they said.