When Brad Tandy launched himself from the starting block into the pool with his unique and unorthodox style in the 50m freestyle finals at the Olympic Games on Saturday morning (August 13), Ladysmith and South Africa held their collective breaths.
For Brad, just being there was surreal and securing a place in the finals was the “cherry on top” of his Rio 2016 Olympic aspirations.
Coming into the Olympics, he was ranked 10th in the world and his highest expectation was to make it into the semi-final rounds.
“I was the most tense and nervous in the semi-finals,” explained Brad in an exclusive interview at his parents’ home in Ladysmith. “When it came to the finals, I was the underdog in the outside lane. No one expected anything from me and finishing joint 6th was just amazing, with only 0.4 of a second separating the winner from the last place swimmer.”
It was such a close race…
Brad believes he has at least one more Olympic Games in him and expects to compete in not just the 50m freestyle, but the 100m and the 100m relay come Tokyo 2020.
Brad is known for his super fast starts, considered ridiculously fast by some swimming commentators.
He, however, knows where he is weakest and what he has to concentrate on, ie the last 15 metres in the water. The first 15 metres from launching off the blocks and into the water, he is regarded as one of the fastest in the world.
It is at the end of the race that he needs to improve and he plans to do just that!
By swimming in longer distance events while still specialising in the 50m sprint, he hopes to improve his overall stamina. If he is the fastest in the first 15 and retains that speed throughout, he will be unstoppable.
On August 25, he will be taking part in the SA Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg to qualify for the SA team taking part in the 13th edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships to be held in Canada in December.
He plans to be swimming throughout the year in various competitions as he keeps his eye on the eventual prize, Olympic glory and a gold medal in four years’ time at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“To all the people who expressed their support for me during not just the Olympics but the long preparation period before, you made all the early mornings and countless hours of swimming practice worthwhile. You will never know how important your support has been… I am so blessed to have come from Ladysmith. I thank each and every person for their support,” said a humble Brad.
He clearly has not lost touch with his hometown and the fact that he made time to talk to the press is a clear indication that he is the same Brad Tandy who made both Egerton and LHS proud…
The same swimmer who lifted many a trophy at the Ladysmith Marlins Swimming Club.
Talking about his time in the Olympic village, he remembers it all with fondness, but the memory that sticks with him is the minutes spent waiting in the ready room, waiting to go out into the Olympic Stadium, waiting in silence as others carried out pre-race preparations, be it stretching or listening to music with head-phones on… And then to be outside listening to the roar of the crowd, ready to launch himself from the starting block…
DID YOU KNOW?
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