Swimmer from St John’s College wins at the Gauteng Championships

A St John’s College Grade 10 learner has a collection of medals from the South African National Schools’ Swimming Championship.

Michael van Heerden represented Gauteng in the South African National Schools’ Swimming Championship in Durban from April 21–23

Swimming has always been part of Michael van Heerden’s life. He first learned to swim at the age of three at a Learn to Swim school. He loved the sense of confidence that it gave him when he first realised that he could jump into the pool and put his face in the water and make it safely across the width of the small pool.

“I enjoy the competitive nature of swimming. It is a brutal sport that keeps you humble. There are often only milliseconds that separate the top swimmers. You can have a great seeding time and end up not even medalling in the event or you cannot be seeded properly and surprise everyone and take gold. It teaches you humility and resilience,” said Michael.

In the Gauteng Championships, he won six gold medals, two silver and a bronze, and also received the Senior Victor Ludorum for his performances.

One of the challenges Michael has is trying to manage his time and balance swimming, water polo and academics. He said swimming was a very demanding sport as it required many hours of training to stay competitive.
He also plays first-team water polo for St John’s and Gauteng Schools and loves it.

Michael concluded by saying, “I look up to South African Olympians like Chad Le Clos and Pieter Coetzé and of course also the legendary Michael Phelps. I also admire my coach Robin Raven, from Raven Aquatics, who has taught me resilience.”

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