There is an Afrikaans saying that goes: ‘Klein botteltjie, groot gif’. This describes seven-year-old Kaylie van der Linde in a nutshell. There is so much more to this young girl than meets the eye. She is shy and doesn’t talk much, but in the swimming pool, she transforms into a ‘magical mermaid’. Kaylie is the youngest of three children, and joined Vryheid Swimming Club when she was just six years old. Seeing her older brothers compete, train and swim daily inspired her to also try this strenuous sporting code. Kaylie is fiercely competitive and wanted to see if she could do even better than her brothers. Without a doubt, she had the determination and passion, and has gone on to beat her 11-year-old brother, Keegan. This drove her fiery spirit to achieve even more, and Kaylie (six years old at the time) was accepted into the South African Swim Federation (SA Swim) even though they normally only accept children from the age of eight years old. This, in itself, is an achievement, since it makes Kaylie the youngest swimmer. She has to compete in the under nine age group.
Her first age group gala was held in Richards Bay and she entered the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and 50 breaststoke. She swam excellent times and completed all of her events without being disqualified. Last year December, she competed in the Stingray Championships, also in Richards Bay, competing in the U/9 age group, where she improved all three of her personal best times to win one silver and two bronze medals. She was once again the youngest swimmer at the championships.
In February this year, Kaylie (now seven years old) improved her personal best times again and added the 50m butterfly event to the list. She was once again the youngest swimmer and received a cash prize for that fact. On February 27, Kaylie swam the 100m freestyle and competed to qualify for Level 2, but unfortunately she didn’t make it. However, she once again managed to improve on her personal best times by a few seconds. There are currently no other seven-year-old swimmers in Zululand, which puts Kaylie in the number one spot. Kaylie says that the moment she hits the water after her dive, she feels happy and excited. The only thought she concentrates on while swimming is to win. She idolizes professional swimmer Penny Heyns.
Kaylie trains in the mornings from 5am until 7am, which involves fitness training, and then in the evenings she has stroke correction training. She trains from Monday to Saturday, unless she has to compete on a Saturday. She receives no special treatment because of her age and has the exact same training programme as all the other swimmers. She also follows a special diet during the swimming season, which comprises a lot of bananas and a special milkshake for swimmers, since her training is so tough. Kaylie says she enjoys swimming fly, while backstroke is her least favourite. Her strict training programme doesn’t leave much time for anything else, but when Kaylie gets the opportunity, she enjoys farming with her father.
This young girl has so much potential, determination, and the mindset and spirit of a true winner. Kaylie received an offer to transfer to one of the best swimming squads in Durban, but for now will be swimming for Vryheid Swimming Club. We hope to see her in the Olympic Games in the future. Good luck, Kaylie, we are all rooting for you!
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