Veteran swimmer from Mbombela wins world title

Geraldine Janssens (79) has been making waves on the Mpumalanga swimming scene for a while now, but at the beginning of August, she exchanged her provincial and national titles for that of world champion.

The week-long World Aquatics Masters Championships were held across three cities in Japan this year, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima. From August 4 to 11, the national champs from countries such as Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Australia, China and Japan dove into action, hopeful to claim the title for their countries on the international swimming scene.

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After a 36-hour trip to get to Fukuoka, Janssens set her eyes on her 200m backstroke race on August 7. She recalls she had to outwit 20 other swimmers in this item to claim victory. She managed a time of 3:44, which was eight seconds faster than her closest competition, to secure the gold medal and world title.

She told Lowvelder she was elated with her efforts, but that she is glad to be back to enjoy some time to rest after the journey.

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When the publication asked her what her biggest challenge was, she did not refer to her time in the pool, but instead the environment outside of it. “Nobody spoke English, so it was a challenge to find your way around,” Janssens laughed.

The veteran swimmer left Fukuoka just in time as a typhoon hit the island of Kyushu, on which Fukuoka is located, the day after her departure. Luckily the remainder of the South African swimming team were not affected.