WATCH: Umdloti swimmer wins big at Special Olympics World Summer Games

He was called out of retirement to dive back into the pool of champions and sprinted ahead of his competitors winning two gold medals at the Abu Dhabi 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

Umdloti‘s intellectually disabled swimmer David Coates came back home beaming with pride after competing last week.

“I swam very hard and focused on my turns, coming out of them very fast all the way to the touch pad,” said the 41-year-old swimmer who has been competing in the pool for over 20 years.

The charming David is intellectually disabled due to a childhood illness which left him unable to count or understand time. In the pool however, he has always been a lap ahead according to his mom, Debbie.

“He is a natural swimmer and has very strong shoulders.

“He cannot pace himself, so he freaks out the other swimmers because he just goes off like a bullet and does not stop,” chuckled Debbie.

David used to train with the able body national team at Kings Park Pool and quickly made friends with stars such as Chad Le Clos, Ryk Neethling and Cameron van der Burgh.

“Princess Charlene of Monaco was a big mate of David’s and is very involved with the special Olympics. David saw all the news about her and Prince Albert and when she visited last, he excitedly asked how Prince William was – she packed up laughing.”

David has competed all over the world from Mexico to Sweden, New Zealand and Belgium and has collected many a prize, including the prestigious Premier’s Sports Award. He also races outside of the pool and is a regular at the Midmar Mile having completed his 20th Mile last year.

“I love being in the water. The only time I do not swim is when there is lightning,” said David, who enjoys watching wrestling and has an extensive DVD collection.

His coach, Cara Goeman said she was incredibly proud of David winning the 400 metre and 800 metre freestyle at the Summer Games.

“His race was spectacular. His closest competitor had a very fast start, but David just shot forward and swam an absolute record time,” said Goeman.

“David is an extremely good competitor and he loves to race. He has been competing on a high level against swimmers much younger than him for many years. He is a fantastic ambassador for swimming with intellectual disabilities.”

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