Ho bids for five Midmar titles

Having won four titles in a row, the heat is on Ho as he prepares to defend his crown in the waters of Midmar Dam next weekend.

“There is pressure on me as defending champion to keep on winning. Having won three, then four in a row has added that little bit more pressure, but I try not to think about it too much,” Ho said.

“Midmar is a place that I am comfortable and confident with. We can’t control the conditions. If I could I would, but Midmar is somewhere where I am relaxed.

“I do know what is happening, I’ve got the experience behind me. It is one of those races where I do feel a lot more confident than if I am swimming overseas.”

Ho is regarded as one of South Africa’s finest open water swimmers and became the country’s first person to medal at the Fina World Championships, claiming bronze in the 5km event in Rome in 2009.

Ho admits that he hasn’t deviated too much from the training regimes of years past as he looks to extend his record to five straight titles.

“I haven’t changed my programme at all. I’ve found that it works for me, so I don’t want to tweak it. I’m just keeping it as normal.

“If something does go wrong, I will reassess, but my training programme is probably going to stay as it is for quite a while,” he said.

“I just worry about myself and my own race. I can only control my own race, just focus on me and the race that I want to swim and take it from there.”