Sweeney’s on the right track for Olympics
Having recovered from an injury, swimmer Ayrton Sweeney recently competed at the World Championships, and also bagged three medals at the recent Africa Games.
THE road to recovery for up-and-coming swimming sensation Ayrton Sweeney has been a bumpy one, however through sheer determination and the support of the KZN Department of Sport and Recreation backed Elite Athlete Development Programm,e he has his sights firmly set on qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Sweeney injured his elbow earlier in the year but he has managed to work his way back to competitive swimming.
“I had dislocated and fractured my elbow so there was no movement in it. I had some big fears and I was very worried that I wasn’t going to be able to qualify for the Olympic Games or get to the World Champs this year. I went to the doctor who said that with one-and-a-half months to go until the World Championships, there was a chance. He was very positive so I had that to go on,” he said.
The mental obstacles that Sweeney faced were some of the greatest challenges however with the help of the EADP and the gains that he saw throughout his rehabilitation he was able to get himself back into a good enough shape to get to the World Championships in Kazan, Russia – one step closer to his goal of getting to the Olympics.
“Just getting to Worlds was an amazing experience although it came as a bitter sweet experience for me because I am still an athlete and want to do as well as I possibly can, but I knew that I wasn’t going to be near the top of my game. I was more relieved though to be able to compete and realise that I was on the track,” he added.
After his near-miraculous appearance at the World Champs in Russia, Sweeney had a few weeks to prepare for the Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo and the 22 year old knew that the continental championships were a chance for him to show that he was getting back to his best.
“I had a few training sessions between Worlds and the Africa Games to try and get myself into as good a shape as I could. I knew the importance of doing well at the continental championships and I knew that the goal was to win medals. I felt really good and managed to win gold and was two seconds off my personal best which surprised me. With two golds and a bronze, I knew that I was well on the way to recovery. My performance in the Congo definitely changed my mental state,” a positive Sweeney said.
