Local swimmers rake in wealth of medals
Star swimmer Chad le Clos won a record seven medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Golden boy, Chad le Clos, said that competing in the Commonwealth Games reminded him of competing in the Olympic Games in London.
“Everyone was very friendly and there was such a great atmosphere, the swimming was amazing as the team continuously supported each other throughout,” said Chad.
He won bronze medals in the 50m butterfly final, 200m individual medley final, the 4x200m freestyle relay final and the 4x100m medley relay final.
He won a silver medal for the 4x100m freestyle relay final and raked in two gold medals for the 100m butterfly final and the 200m butterfly final.
“I wasn’t in the best shape when I competed, but a win is a win,” smiled Chad.
He said that next year he will start getting himself ready for the 2016 Olympic Games where he hopes to secure his legacy as one of the swimming greats.
“I am eagerly awaiting the municipality to sign off the structure over the short course pool, a project between the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation and the eThekwini Municipality, which will allow us to swim and train during the winter periods,” said Chad.
During his time in South Africa, before he returns to complete his final semester in sports management in Florida, Sebastien Rousseau trained with the Seagulls Swimming Club.
At the Games he competed in and won bronze medals for the 200m individual butterfly, the 400m individual medley, the 4x200m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay.
“The Seagulls have so many good swimmers in their team so they are great to train with when I am down in South Africa,” said Sebastien.
His short term goal is to compete in the World Short Course in December this year and is set to improve on his current times by reacting faster to how his competitors swim.
Training nine times a week with the rest of her team and competing in the sport of swimming since she was eight years old, Rene Warnes, said she was glad to have had the opportunity to compete in the Games this year.
“It was really competitive, which was nice to see and the vibe in the swimming arena was really good as the crowd cheered you on no matter which nation you came from, they were very supportive,” said Rene.
She competed in the 400m individual medley, the 200m individual medley, the 200m butterfly and the relay.
