Karl breaks records and stigma

HOURS of training paid off for world swimming champ, Karl, who brought home the medals. Karl Hebbelmann’s humble nature was evident as he described how it was the unbreakable bonds of friendship he forged as being greater treasures than the two records he claimed at the recent Down Syndrome World Swimming Championships.

The New Germany resident said he was all butterflies for his 36 hour flight to Truro in Nova Scotia Canada.

“When I landed I was just so tired,” he laughed.

The 30-year-old spent the next 10 days in Canada competing in a slew of events including the 800m freestyle (set a masters record of 13 minutes 51 seconds and 32 split seconds), 400m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle. He took part in the 200m breaststroke (and claimed an Africa masters record of three minutes and 41 seconds), 100m breaststroke, 50m breaststroke and the 100m backstroke.

Even with the busy line-up of races, Karl also signed up for eight relay events. His team won the bronze medals in the 4x100m freestyle relay as well as the 4x50m freestyle relay.

“I wasn’t nervous for the events, I was way more excited. I actually couldn’t wait,” said the determined athlete.

Karl’s last big swimming competition was the Special Olympics in America in 2015, where he won a bronze medal. It was meant to be his retirement gala.

The reason behind his wall of confidence is the sheer amount of hours he spent in the pool in the build up to the international event. His usual training regime saw him in the water every afternoon, but a month before, his coach advised him to up this number to nearly twice a day.

ALSO READ: WBHS sweeps the boards

This ramped his pool time up to nine sessions per week.

“I was training for up to two hours, non-stop,” said the pleased swimmer.

Karl started swimming for one simple reason, to keep fit and active. This soon became one of his passions and he began competing in galas.

Even though Karl’s parents, Ria and Neil, dedicated an entire wall in their home to house his various swimming achievements, he remains humble.

“There were only nine swimmers from South Africa that competed in the competition but he built such strong bonds of friendships with the other athletes over there,” said his loving mom.

With no national funding available for SA’s athletes to compete in the prestigious event, his parents, friends and family rallied to set up much-needed fund-raisers. Even though his parents were unable to watch him compete in person, they were able to cheer him on via a live stream, from the comfort of their couch. “Thank you to everyone who supported and donated towards sending Karl over,” said his doting dad.

When he isn’t in the pool, Karl works as a gardener and handyman at APN Retirement Home.

He also enjoys Brazilian Jujitsu, which he has been doing for a year now, as well as contemporary dancing. He has been a proud member of the Flatfoot Dance Company for almost two years and thoroughly enjoys the challenges the art of dancing offers.

His mother emphasised the importance of swimming in his daily routine and how proud she was that he competes locally against able-bodied swimmers. She teased that Karl would probably spend his free time glued to the TV, playing Playstation, if he wasn’t swimming.

“I really would though,” laughed Karl.

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Highway Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.