17-year-old swims his heart out in Italy
Kyle reached the finals of all but two events, swimming a gruelling programme of 100m and 200m races.
A young Aquatic Academy swimmer set a new record in the Pesaro leg of the Circuito Nuoto Italia when he won gold swimming in the 200m individual medley event.
Kyle McKenzie (17), swimming for the Gauteng team, also won a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke event.
In Treviso, the Grade 12 learner scored a second bronze medal in the 400m individual medley, lowering his own Eastern Gauteng record time by a further four seconds, swimming 4:46:05.
Mckenzie competed in the Circuito Nuoto Italia in late June. The Pesaro and Treviso events are part of the European circuit, attracting swimmers of the calibre of South African Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh, a Hungarian swimmer and six-time Olympic medalist.
It is an exceptional experience for younger swimmers that need international competition and exposure to step up to the next level.
Swimmers from Gauteng that were invited to participate in the two swimming championships in Italy had to qualify for the privilege to tour.
Swimmers worked hard to swim fast, enduring many gruelling hours of training, six days a week.
Kyle reached the finals of all but two events, swimming a gruelling programme of 100m and 200m races, scoring many points for the Aquatic Gauteng Team.
He also enjoyed a photo opportunity with two of the greatest 400m individual medley swimmers in the world, le Clos and Cseh.
