Sandton family dominates in the water

Chlorine runs in the veins of this Sandton swimming family as the father, daughter and son trio finished on the podium in the recent Swimming South Africa Nationals.

Brother and sister Jessica and Cameron Thompson, went head-to-head against the country’s best junior swimmers in the South African National Juniors and Aquatic Championships.

Cameron competed in six individual events in addition to representing Central Gauteng in three senior relays – a big accomplishment for a 16-year-old swimming against Olympians such as Chad le Clos and Pieter Coetzé.

The St Stithians Boys College learner achieved gold in the 50m butterfly event and four silver medals for the 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle event. He also made it to the senior final for the 50m backstroke, ranking 10th in the country among all the male competitors (of all ages) for his 50m backstroke and butterfly.
“Nationals were a great learning opportunity. There are a lot of things to work on and I can’t wait to improve in the new season,” he said.

Jessica competed in eight individual events in addition to representing Central Gauteng Aquatics in three senior relays. She achieved two gold medals for the 50m and 100m butterfly events and four silver medals for the 50m breaststroke, 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 200m individual medley events.

“Competition was fierce as we were racing other countries as well as the top swimmers in South Africa. These galas are emotionally and physically draining and this gala was no different putting my resilience and perseverance to the test,” said Jessica.

The Redhill School learner has also been selected to join Team South Africa in the Junior Worlds in Lima, Peru at the end of August.

“I’m looking forward to representing SA on my first international tour and racing against the best in the world.”

This is a prestigious opportunity for the young swimmer, who is currently ranked the number one 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly swimmer for the 14 to 17 age group.

“What a fantastic privilege to race for my country. Being a teenager, it’s rewarding to see that all my sacrifices, dedication and gruelling training has paid off.”

Father Glen Thompson competed across four events in the Masters Nationals in the Western Cape. The 50-year-old not only achieved personal bests across all four events but also took home the gold for the 50m backstroke.

According to Glen, it felt great to be competing once again, after not having many opportunities due to the pandemic.

“Cape Town hosted a great event and all the swimmers are looking forward to nationals again next year. Hopefully with some more training I can improve on some of my results.”

Related articles:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/219513/st-stithians-girls-dominate-at-national-aquatics-tournament-for-second-year-in-a-row/

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/307395/redhill-swimmer-honoured-with-national-colours/