Ella Bunge of Paddock has quietly been adding success upon success in the swimming pool.
Her mother Lise was an exceptional swimmer in her time, and she has helped Ella take it to the next level.
However, she now trains with Mandy Koegelenberg at Blue Ocean Aquatics.
Ella, who attends Izotsha Primary (Grade 6), is currently third in South Africa in the U12 age group, and achieved this ranking when she was only 11 years old. She still has another year at this level.
Ella has qualified in four events this season already for the South African national junior champs.
At the KZN junior champs swum a little while ago, she swam in 10 events.
This was some going in the grueling heat, so it was hugely impressive that she made it through to 10 finals.
She came away with seven gold medals and three silver medals and was the U12 age group winner.
Despite all this success, she said the highlight of her season was meeting Tatjana Schoenmaker at one of the galas and getting a photo and autograph.
Her coach Mandy described her as an all-rounder medley swimmer.
“She is a special breed and needs to be nurtured properly as most people only have two specific strokes,” said Mandy.
Ella has excelled in both the long distance and the short distance races, but her favorites are the 400m freestyle and the 200m breaststroke.
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