Jarred Crous puts out the Olympic torch

Local swimmer and 2016 Olympian Jarred Crous marked the end of the Olympics by putting out Crawford College in Pretoria’s Olympic flame on Tuesday morning.

The flame had been lit by the school to show solidarity with its former pupils competing in Rio the previous fortnight.

Crawford had five former pupils in the pool in Rio: Cameron van der Burgh, Crous, Michael Meyer, Michelle Weber and Dylan Bosch.

Van der Burgh won silver.

Gerhard Zandberg, an old Crawfordian and Olympian, carried the torch to Pretoria a day before the games began, and Crous put it out on Tuesday to mark the end of a successful Olympic campaign for Team SA.

Speaking to Rekord, Crous said being a part of the Olympics was incredible.

“To be able to compete at the highest level; just trying to make my family, friends and country proud. I wasn’t nervous or anything, I was amazed at the number of talented athletes the country had produced.”

He described the Rio crowd as electric, especially during the races.

“It’s crazy. As soon as you walk in the room [pool area], the people in the crowd look like ants; the noise is out of this world,” he said.

“You can’t even hear yourself think but as soon as you get out of the blocks, the crowd just goes quiet.”

Crous said even though he didn’t get a medal, he was still proud of what he had achieved.

“I’ve always wanted to be part of the Olympics since I was seven and with these games, I feel like I’m building up the momentum to get better.”

“Before I can focus on the 2020 games, I just need to focus on the job at hand, which is to compete in the SA nationals and other events coming my way,” he said.

Crous thanked Team SA for the wonderful memories.

“We had such positive vibes back in camp. We showed the world that SA has the heart and drive to compete with the best around the world.”

“I thank the Crawford family for their support throughout. It has been an incredible journey.”

Crous competed in the 200m breaststroke event.

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