Amica de Jager may have done enough in the women’s 10km open-water swim race at the World Championships in Doha to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.
She finished 27th, one minute and 12 seconds behind the race winner, Sharon van Rouwendal (Netherlands). The Tuks student was the first swimmer from Africa to finish. The Dutch swimmer’s winning time was 1:57.26. De Jager’s time was 1:58.38.
Tomorrow, De Jager competes in the women’s 5-kilometre open-water race. On Thursday, it is the mixed relay.
De Jager is on tenterhooks to hear whether she has qualified to compete at the Paris Games.
“I know the first 13 finishers at this World Championships will compete in Paris, as will the top three finishers during last year’s World Championships in Japan. That leaves five continental spots. One of these is for a swimmer from Africa. So I hope being the first female swimmer from Africa to finish that, I will get the nod. “In the end, it is Sascoc’s decision,” De Jager said yesterday.
“I will be OK with whatever is decided. To have been in the mix right up to the end at World Champs was terrific. It was an incredibly tough race, so I had to keep my wits about me. My result proves that hard, long hours in the pool pay off.”
It is interesting that Van Rouwendal won the last Midmar Mile women’s race in 2023.
De Jager won the 5km open-water swim at last year’s African Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia.
When asked what motivates her to push her body to its limits, the Tuks student said, “Nothing worthy in life comes for free or is easily obtained. One must dedicate oneself to the process. Hopefully, the journey and all its obstacles will make the destination priceless. I constantly strive for perfection and have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and self-improvement.
“The road less travelled has always been the road for me. I want to do something extraordinary with my life. It is why I am motivated every time I read Colin Kaepernick’s (Nike) quote, “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy – ask if they are crazy enough”. It is what keeps me pushing the boundaries.”
The 18-year-old Callan Lotter (Tuks) finished 22nd swimming at 2:00.07.
Henre Louw (Tuks) finished 53rd in the men’s 10km race. Ruan Breytenbach (Tuks) was 58th. Hungary’s Kristof Rusovszky won in 1:48.21.
Tuks’s Tatjana Schoenmaker and Kaylene Corbett have withdrawn from the World Swimming Championships that start on Sunday.