HAVING returned home from the FINA Swimming World Championships in Russia with a gold medal in the 5km open water swim, Durban-based Chad Ho is grateful for what the KZN Department of Sport and Recreation-backed Elite Athlete Development Programme has helped him achieve and their backing for what he hopes to achieve in the future.
Ho was brilliant in his efforts to beat the world’s best in Kazan, Russia to claim his maiden world championship title, and the six-time aQuellé Midmar Mile champion was happy with his 5km gold medal although he was disappointed with how his world champs ended.
Ho said the world champs were, however, successful for him.
“I was very happy with my gold medal – being a world champion is a great feeling – but the 10km open water race was a little bit disappointing.”
The Durban resident believes that the EADP programme offers more to him than he has ever had at his disposal in the past, and with a year in the programme under his belt, he hopes that he can continue to gain through the help of the professionals at Prime Human Performance Institute.
“I train at Prime three times a week at the moment, but I have the choice to train more if I want to. However, with swimming, I find that three times is the right amount for me.
“The people at Prime are really friendly and are so willing to help out if there is an issue. It means that I can just concentrate on swimming and competing with everything else being taken care of.
“Having a world-class facility at home is a major advantage as we do not have to travel overseas if we need professional help, and the entire facility and programme offers us athletes something that we have never been exposed to before,” said Ho.
The 25-year-old reiterated the convenience and the importance of having a ‘one-stop-shop’ in his home town.
“Having Prime right here with its qualified professionals is hugely important for me, because if I have an injury or something they are the first people I go to for advice because they are at the cutting edge of science here.”
Ho added that his next big ambition is qualifying for the Rio Olympic Games next year.
“The team at Prime as well as my coach will meet and we will devise a training programme and a plan that will hopefully have me at my best when qualifying comes around,” he added.
