Local artistic swimmer on her way to compete in Europe
A local artistic swimming star from the Kingfisher AquaSync club is part of the national junior team that will soon participate in the Mediterranean Synchronized Swimming Cup in Europe.
One of Pretoria’s top achievers in synchronized swimming, Xera Vegter-Maharaj, is on her way to Spain for the Mediterranean Synchronized Swimming Cup.
In South Africa the sport is these days also known as artistic swimming.
She is the only Gauteng member included in Swimming South Africa’s team for the event. The team consists of nine members, a coach and a manager. She was one of the outstanding performers at last years invitational competition of the local Kingfisher AquaSync club.
Vegter-Maharaj performed excellently at Swimming South Africa’s recent Artistic Swimming Championship, which also served as trials for the team going to Spain. She participated in the age group 13-15 and earned first places in three different divisions. Her selection for the national team that will participate in Spain was therefore a formality.
This 14-year-old girl form St. Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls in Pretoria is widely regarded as Gauteng’s best Artistic Swimmer in her age group. The SA team for the competition in Spain consists of nine members from all over South Africa and Vegter-Maharaj is the only local swimmer who could make the team.
She is also a top achiever in rhythmic gymnastics and a stalwart in her school’s team in the regular swimming code.
Shortly before the team’s departure to Spain, Vegter-Maharaj said she hoped to make a breakthrough with a good performance in Spain. She had set her sights on participating in next year’s Junior World Championship.
Like any focused sportsman this determined young swimmer also dreams of participating in the Olympic Games. Though Swimming SA has never included artistic swimmers in their Olympic team, Vegter-Maharaj believes that through hard work and good achievements at international competitions she could be a pioneer in this regard.
Her coach, Cathy Bester, also believes that Vegter-Maharaj has the ability to participate at the very highest level.
“She definitely has the talent and the necessary work ethic to make it,” Bester told Rekord.
Bester said though the sport was growing fairly fast in Gauteng, a talented artistic swimmer like Vegter-Maharaj also needs more competition from other participants.
“Due to the structure of the sport, there must also be pairs and teams participating in all competitions and therefore more top contestants will have to be developed if South Africans want to qualify for the Olympic Games,” Bester explained.
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