Tuks’ Catherine van Rensburg is not one to rest on her laurels; as she had put her aQuellé Midmar Mile gold medal away, she set herself a new challenge.
Next month in Jeffreys Bay, during the South African Open Water Swimming Championships, she hopes to win either the 10km or 5km. Or at least finish second. If she manages to do so, she qualifies to participate in the World Championships.
If it were up to Van Rensburg, she and her training partner and friend, Callan Lotter (Tuks), would do what they did this past weekend during the aQuellé Midmar Mile again. That is to finish first and second. That will be just the first step towards their common goal. Which is to represent South Africa at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
It is what motivates the two Tukkies swimmers to swim back and forth for hours on end, six days a week. There was that one week when they swam 90km. That means spending almost 20 hours in the pool.
Tuks swimmers proved themselves thoroughly during the aQuellé Midmar Mile in KwaZulu Natal this past weekend by winning one gold, two silver and a bronze medal. Equally exciting is the fact that in the women’s race, five Tuks swimmers finished in the top ten. The same happened in the men’s competition.
Van Rensburg won the women’s race in 19 minutes 49 seconds. Lotter was second swimming 20:06. Stephanie Houtman (Tuks) and New Zealand’s Ruby Heath made Midmar history by finishing in 20 minutes and 32 seconds – for a dead tie. It is the first time it happened.
“This is my first Midmar race, so I’m so happy about it,” said Van Rensburg. “The conditions were slightly choppy, but I just pushed through. Callan and I are best friends, so we swim together the whole time, and we just tried to push each other to see how far we could get.”
The men’s race was a tightly contested affair. After 1 600 metres of hard swimming, the top five swimmers were separated by a mere nine seconds. New Zealand’s Louis Clark won in 19:07. Tuks’s Henre Louw was second in 19:09, with Matthew Caldwell third in 19:12. Tuks’s Ruan Breytenbach was fourth (19:15), and Connor Albertyn fifth (19:16).
When Van Rensburg was asked what it would take to win a medal in the open water championship, she answered, “The most important thing is going to be to swim at a consistent pace. Sighting is also important. In open water swimming, there are no lanes. So it is important to ensure you swim in a straight line.”
The Tuks swimmer is in for a busy time as a competitive swimmer. In April, she will be participating in the South African Championships to qualify in the pool for the World Championships. She hopes to do well in the 800m freestyle or 1500m freestyle.
“I will probably have to swim between 20 and 30 seconds faster in both events. It sounds rough, but in the 800m, we swim 16 lengths and in the 1500 30 lengths. So I should qualify if I swim just one second faster than usual over every 50 metres.”
The Tuks swimmer is no slouch when competing in the pool. Last year at the African Games in Ghana she won six medals – five individual (4 gold and 1 bronze) and one gold in the relays.
