Joshua, the next swimming sensation?
Joshua Erasmus from Monument Primary exceeded his own and others' expectations recently when he won two bronze medals at the SA Junior Swimming Nationals.
They say he is the next swimming sensation and even compared him to Olympian great Michael Phelps.
Joshua Erasmus knows what it means to fight for what he wants. All the hard work and practising that he has been putting in paid off when he took home two bronze medals from the South African Junior Swimming Nationals that were held in Germiston from 26 to 28 March.
The 12-year-old Monument Primary learner won a bronze medal in the 100m and the 200m backstroke respectively.
His mom Melanie explained that Joshua started learning to swim at seven months old, and from the age of eight he has been swimming competitively.
“When you are in the water it is like a different world. It is my go-to place,” he said excitedly.
Joshua explained that he did not think he was going to achieve anything because everyone else was taking home all the medals. But then in December 2020 he qualified for the nationals, and even though he was supposed to swim at level 3, he was told that his times were too good, and Joshua had to swim his first-ever nationals on the South African National Junior (SANJ) level.
Joshua said he was surprised and shocked when he touched the wall after completing the race and turned around to see how he did. The first thing he did was take a photo of his medal and send it to his mom and dad, who had to watch the race on YouTube due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Melanie said her son is very committed and swims because he loves it – a love that has kept growing since he started at the Waterborn Swimming Club in Randburg under his coaches Paul and Tanya Fryer.
The next step for Joshua is to start working towards achieving his senior times. He said winning bronze changed his mindset, and made him realise that he can do this. He dreams of representing South Africa in the pool oversees, and following in the footsteps of some of his swimming heroes such as Michael Phelps, Chad Le Clos, and Ryan Murphy who also specialises in backstroke.
His mother explained that they were very grateful to Monument Primary and said the support and motivation that Joshua has received from the teachers and learners were amazing. She believes his number-one fan might be his grandfather.
