Crawford pupil swims her heart out for charity
SANDTON – A Sandton Seals Swimming Club swimmer, Monique Gerber, showed her charitable side following her participation in the recent Midmar Mile race.
Gerber, also a Crawford College Sandton pupil, swam eight miles in the race to raise funds for the Mandeville Dolphins Disabled Swimming Club, which is based in Bezuidenhout Valley.
The swimmer managed to raise around R1 000 which will assist the club to pay for coaching and getting swimming equipment.
The matric pupil explained the decision to take on the challenge at Midmar, considered the world’s largest open-water swimming competition, was made for a good cause. “This was the fourth year that I swam at Midmar, having swum two races for the last three years; but this year, I thought I could use the event to make a difference,” she said.
“I [then] chatted to my school swimming teacher, who also swims eight miles at Midmar and raises funds for a worthy cause. She inspired me, so I thought I could make my swim more meaningful by raising funds to support disabled swimmers.”
Gerber added that this encouraged her to join her teacher, Nadia Bacchini’s cause to make a difference and show others that she would be swimming for a worthy cause.
Despite this, taking on the eight miles had its challenges for Gerber. The young swimmer explained that the gruelling race comprised four one-mile races on the first day and another four one-mile races on the second day.
She added that this created concerns about her ability to complete all four races, especially since swimming was such a lonely sport, particularly in open-water competitions.
“[Swimming] is a mental game in that only you are there to motivate yourself to finish [but] I was proud, in the end, that I was able to push myself through each of the eight events,” she said.
Talking of future plans, Gerber explained that she planned to further her studies at university but that swimming would continue to play a big role in her life. “Even if I end up going far away from home, I will find other open-water races to compete in and I will certainly look to use these to support worthy causes,” she concluded.
Details: www.sandtonsealsswimming.weebly.com
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