A local 77-year-old swimmer, Geraldine Janssens, won seven gold medals at the National Masters Long Course Swimming Championship held from March 9 to 13 at the University of the Western Cape.

Like many of the other swimmers, it was her first competition in just over two years.

She competed in the 75-to-79 age category. A total of 1 993 swimmers swam in the nationals.

In the 50m backstroke, Janssens broke her own national record, setting a time of 45.74s. In the 100m backstroke, she took first place in 1,42min.

She claimed the 200m backstroke gold in 3,43min. In the 200m freestyle, in which she swam backstroke, she clocked 3,36min. “This is the fastest time I have done in South Africa. My national record for this is 3,34min, which I did at the last world champs in Korea,” said Janssens.

She took gold in the 400m freestyle with a personal best of 7,52min.

In the 800m freestyle, she froze the stopwatch on 15,41min, also a personal best.

“The nationals in Cape Town this year were well organised. It was a very enjoyable week of swimming. The University of Western Cape’s pool is really well kept and a pleasure to swim in,” she told Lowvelder.

“The last two years have been difficult for swimmers, with all of the masters competitions, including the nationals and the world championships, having been cancelled and the pools being closed.

“I managed to keep training throughout this time, but these were my first races in two years, and it was great to compete again. I train at the Virgin Active pool five days a week, and run the Halls parkrun on Saturdays.

“I am 77 years old and intend to continue swimming for many more years, including the Masters World Championships in Japan next year.

“The Masters National Championships will be held in at Van Riebeeck Park right here in Mbombela next year, so get those sponsorships coming in,” she said.

Janssens won the Sportswoman of the Year and Sports Star of the Year trophies at the Mpumalanga Sports Awards 2020.