September 30, 2003
By Lucky Sindane
TWO young swimmers from Soweto are undergoing intensive training in the hope of making the South African Olympic squad to take part in the 2008 Games in Beijing, China.
The youngsters, 15-year-old Thabang Moeketsane and 13-year-old Lucky Nkabinde, were earlier this year picked to join an elite programme aimed at building South Africa's sporting prowess.
The two now attend the High Performance Centre, a sporting facility based at the University of Pretoria. The development squad, all boarders at the centre, attend school and train with the country's top coaches in the 25-metre swimming pool. They also have access to a gymnasium.
"The centre accommodates top swimmers identified by SwimSA," said SwimSA marketing department spokesperson, Godfrey Monei.
A specialist coach, Sandor Ban, has been appointed to train Thabang, Lucky and 14-year-old Yolana du Plessis from Boksburg.
Thabang, Lucky and Yolana were all discovered through SwimSA's "Learn to Swim" programme and were placed on the fast-track programme at the High Performance Centre in the hope that they will be part of the 2008 Olympic swimming squad. They are the first three black swimmers to form part of the elite training squad.
The three have swum in numerous competitions and at national level.
"These young stars come from disadvantaged areas, where there are no high-class swimming facilities and coaches," director of coaching from SwimSA Rocco Meiring said.
"We are considering bringing other swimmers from disadvantaged backgrounds into the programme," Meiring added. "Our focus is on transformation: we want to see more black swimmers at the centre and competing at national level."
In addition to their schoolwork and training, the three youngsters attend a life skill programme once a week.
The work is tough, but the young swimmers are dedicated. "Our goal is to represent our country in 2008," said Lucky.
According to their coach, Ban, the three swimmers train both in and out of the water, about 20 hours a week in the pool and five hours in the gym. "They have adapted very quickly to the routine," Ban said, adding that he liked working with them because "they are very committed and have a lot of self confidence".
Said Thabang: "We are all happy to be at the centre and we hope we are going to go far."
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