Monica swims her way to no 1 in SA!
North Coast Dolphins' head coach Dominique Donner saw the potential in Monica early on.
Remember the name Monica Botha as she is on a dedicated mission to race with the best and play with the big fish in the swimming world.
The 12-year-old athlete is built to swim with a tall, slender body, long arms, powerful feet and a strong swim gene as both her parents were ex-swimmers.
“My parents put me in the water at nine-months and they said I went nuts. At age five, they started coaching me and the next year I started with a swimming coach,” said Botha, who lives in Amanzimtoti.
Monica was always ahead of the game and was school ready at four years and 10 months, so her parents were advised to home school the bright young girl.
This however posed a problem for her swimming, as she was not allowed to use the local school’s pool because she was not a pupil.
“It is a KZN Aquatics and Swimming South Africa rule that you have to register with a club in order to swim competitively.”
Luckily, North Coast Dolphins’ head coach Dominique Donner saw the potential in Monica and agreed to let her swim with them at Crawford College North Coast.
“Dominique is brilliant and it is great to have a fresh pair of eyes to help me improve my technique.
“She has worked a lot on improving my butterfly and now it is my favourite stroke,” said Botha, who is an only child.
Monica has been thriving in the water and broke the 2003 200 metre freestyle short course record at the KZN Premier Championships at the Kings Park in a new time of 2:15:57 in December 2018.
She is also the top swimmer in the U12 800 metre category on the SA database – a ranking she achieved by fluke.
“I had never swam an 800 metre before.
“We waited for my age group gala in this distance and competed for a “look-see” to check out the event.
“It was a horrible gala – my cap came off, my goggles were not staying put and I was slow on my turns.
“When the rankings came out, I was shocked to see that I was number one in SA!”
The tough swimmer’s dream is to compete in the Junior World Champs and she is working towards going to the World Aquatics Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan in 2021.
When she is not in the water, she enjoys learning Dutch and playing an online horse game.
“Show jumping is my other passion and I love horses. I hope to make money with my swimming so that I can have a horse of my own one day.”
Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.
Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here, or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.
