Jessica Thompson, a St Stithians Girls College learner, has been chosen to represent South Africa in the seventh Commonwealth Youth Games and the ninth World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has named a squad of 49 athletes to compete in the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, which will take place from August 4 to 11.
Jessica is one of only three female swimmers on the small team of six, and she will compete in the 50m and 100m butterfly, freestyle, and backstroke events.
She explained that she is extremely excited about both of these opportunities on her sporting calendar, however, there will always be doubts and nervousness in the back of her mind as to whether she has trained enough to make South Africa proud.
“I can’t wait for this experience and what could unfold. I want to embrace this opportunity and make my country proud! If all goes well, I’m looking to get medals and personal bests in my main events, while making new contacts and getting my name more known in the international swimming fraternity.”
A month later, she will fly to Israel for the ninth World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships, which will be held in Netanya, Israel from September 6 to 10.
“It is an honour and a privilege to wear the Green and Gold! All the countless hours of training, physio and bio appointments, sacrifices I’ve made, the healthy eating, which for a teenager who loves cake, is not easy, but is all worth it.”
Jessica added that preparations leading up to the Commonwealth got off to a rocky start as a result of her being sick for a few weeks.
“Once I got back into the water, I was more eager than ever to start working again. Junior World Champs is further away than Commonwealth which allows me extra training time and to tweak racing strategies.”
This is her second selection for the junior world championship, where she took bronze last year.
“There’s intense pressure regarding international competitions but that’s always expected; it’s a part of this ‘job’. I would say learning how to handle this pressure is one of the most important skills when competing at a higher level. For me, it means trusting in my coach, Brandon Hattingh, and the process and plan we put in place.
“This puts my mind at ease – so whenever I get anxious I can reassure myself that we have done the work and prepared the best we can.”
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