“When we fight”, we win is one of Kamala Harris’s favourite slogans in her US presidential campaign.
And she is right. But why is this relevant? Tuks’s swimmers won the USSA Swim Championships for the sixth time this past weekend. With this victory, with an apology to Vice-president Harris, Tuks proved – “When we dive in, we win.”
The swimmers again made a clean sweep at the Hatfield Campus pool. Apart from winning overall, they also won the men’s and women’s team competitions.
Tuks scored 1 438.50 points. Maties was second with 934.50 points, and Varsity College was third with 863 points.
Ben Plattner, who won the 100m-butterfly in 54.60s, and Hannah Pearse’s 2:15.62 golden performance in the 200m-backstroke were the best performances at the USSA Championships, according to the World Aquatics points table. That is why they got the Most Valuable Player award.
Without her knowing or even getting wet, the Olympic 200m-breaststroke finalist, Kaylene Corbett, contributed to Tuks’s dominance.
The third-year BComm Business Management student, Plattner, will tell the story. This is the third time he has represented Tuks at the USSA Gala. So he has been swimming for a long time. It was his mom who got him to swim.
“As a youngster, I was pretty chubby. My parents were like we need to adress this in a nice way. So my mom took me to swim at the gym. The more I swam, the more weight I lost. I actually also got quite good at it. There was a time when I was one of the fastest swimmers at the gym. That led to me joining a club. I am still swimming.
“But there was a time at Tuks when it felt like my swimming was in a rut. It felt like the same o, same o day after day. You get up, go to class, swim, go home, and do what needs to be done. It was like Groundhog Day.
“But everything changed when Kaylene Corbett and I started to date. I always believed the worst you, as a swimmer, can do is to talk about swimming. But the conversations Kaylene and I had about swimming became much more informative and inspiring. It gave me insight to what an athlete who competes at the highest level has to endure.
“My coach, Rocco Meiring, calls me a laid-back surfer guy. Being laid-back is not the best, but it is also not the worst. The reality, however, is when you swim against the best, you need to be a bit ‘agro’. Competitive.
“One of the many things I respect about Kaylene is her love for racing. She steps up. It is inspiring because, as a competitor, you have to want it. With Kaylene’s encouragement, I have also developed a love for racing. I now have a mindset of wanting to race at big events.”
During USSA’s, Plattner won the 100m-butterfly and finished second in the 50m and 100m butterfly events. He was also part of the men’s 4x50m medley relay, which won gold.