Cowies Hill swimmer wins gold for SA
Kevin Paul won a gold medal once again when he competed at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
COWIES Hill’s Kevin Paul won the first gold medal for South Africa at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil yesterday for the Men’s 100m Breaststroke.
The 25-year-old grew up in Port Elizabeth but moved to Durban about two years ago to train with Graham Hill and the rest of the Seagulls Swimming Club team.
Kevin started swimming when he was four-years-old. His love for the sport continued to grow throughout his school career, which kicked off when he took part in the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 and bagged a gold medal for South Africa for the 100-metre breaststroke.
What others view as a disability, Kevin said his Poland Syndrome is rather something he sees as a different kind of ability. He was born without pectoral major or pectoral minor muscles on his left side.
“I’ve always been like this, so I can’t compare it to anything else. At school level I always competed against able-bodied swimmers and they didn’t go easy on me because of it,” said Kevin.
Kevin trained with his team nine times a week at the Lahee Park Swimming Pool.
GOLD @KevinPaulSwim WHAT A FINISH well done Kev #OlympicChampion
— Chad Le Clos (@chadleclos) September 8, 2016
Before going to Rio, Kevin said, “Having been to two Games in the past I think I have learnt to harness that pressure better and I am going out there to win another gold medal, especially after missing out in London.”
Kevin was surely set on wining that gold medal.
