Top Umdloti swimmer has his eyes on the Olympic prize

From a pool of 1000 contestants, Josh Saunders was one of six athletes chosen to represent SA at the lifesaving world championships in Australia recently and he came back a new man.

The Umdloti man said he always knew that swimming would be his life.

“I remember looking at Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman when I was 11, knowing that I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer too,” said the 23-year-old Josh, who has specialised in 50m and 100m freestyle sprinting.

By the age of 12, he made top ten internationally in his age group which put him well on his way to reach his dreams. Until life punched him in the guts.

“My parents got divorced, my mom got cancer and later passed away and then I was on my own and finances were tight. I had to quit swimming four times. That’s life – you have to deal with it.”

On the brink of giving up, he started swimming one more time with the Marine Surf Lifesaving Club in Durban at the beginning of this year.

He was not at his best until he got the opportunity to participate in the surf swim world selection for Australia in Port Elizabeth. This was a make or break moment.

“We had to swim 400m in the sea, which was very hard for me as I am a pool sprinter. I remember thinking that I am going to die anyway, so I might as well die hard. It was probably one of the hardest swims of my life, but I won.”

This earned him the golden ticket to the prestigious World Champs – an experience that he said has turned him into a new athlete.

“I remember looking down the line at the start blocks and seeing Olympic tattoos on some of the swimmers. I was so excited, I just wanted to destroy the water in front of me and beat them.”

He came home with one silver medal and two bronzes and said he is purely focused on getting to the Olympics now.

“The last three years of my life have just been about surviving, now I am living. My road to Tokyo in 2020 is very real.”

Before he gets there, he has been invited to a crucial five-week preparation camp in America early next year by international swimmer Brad Tandy who is also from Umdloti.

“This is a massive opportunity for me, but I cannot afford it, so I am currently trying to raise about R30 000 to make this a reality.”

To help Josh make his last chance of the Olympic dream a reality, contact him at 071 529 8043.

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