Local resident trumps this year’s 18th FINA World Masters Championships
Geraldine Janssens' (75) journey to this year's 18th FINA World Masters Championships in Gwangju, Korea, was nothing short of a bumpy ride.
The Mbombela resident and record-setting senior backstroke specialist said,” I was booked through Hong Kong and was not sure I would get there in time because of the protests.
“I spent close to 12 hours in Johannesburg before I managed to secure a flight via Singapore to get to Korea.” According to Janssens, it was quite a stressful experience getting to the competition and quite the culture shock to boot.
“Korea is a very different place. Very few people spoke English and I could not understand the few who did.”
The food was also strange fare for a seasoned Lowvelder like Janssens, but staying at the athletes’ village helped her adjust to the climate, the country and its people.
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On the whole, she rates the organisation of the tournament as superb, saying, “The whole competition was quite well-organised and I remember watching my performance on my computer once I landed in South Africa.”
Janssens swam last week Tuesday and participated in the 200-metre backstroke in which she placed second against competitors from Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Hungary, Brazil and Australia. The Danish record holder took advantage of her slow turns and beat Janssens to claim first place.
“I am extremely thankful for the technology which allowed me to see where my weaknesses lay. From the playback, I could tell that I was slower than her at the turn because I was in the lead before the turns.”
The Danish world record holder beat Janssens by four seconds, but she managed to shave two and a half seconds off the national record she set in March this year.
“I am creeping closer to the world record and aim to compete in the 50-metre, 100-metre and 200-metre backstrokes in Japan 2021,” she said.
Janssens’ feat is an especially poignant one considering her brother-in-law and longtime coach, passed away a month before her amazing accomplishment.
“I would like to say a big thank you to my brother-in-law, Michael Higgs. Even during his last days in hospital, he was still writing training schedules for me.”This medal is as much his as it is mine.”
Next on the horizon is the South African Nationals which will be held in Germiston next year as Janssens edges ever closer to the world record.
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