Young swimmers from the Olive Tree Swimming Club had a special opportunity to train with Olympic medallist Chad le Clos at Kings Park Pool on Sunday, marking the launch of the Chad le Clos Foundation’s new initiatives.
The event was not only a memorable experience for the young athletes, but it was also part of the launch of the foundation’s activities for the year ahead, with plans to conduct clinics regularly across South Africa.
Le Clos, currently in Durban for the SA Short Course Championships, where he qualified in four events for the upcoming World Championships in Budapest, joined the young swimmers in the pool.
He teamed up with Wayne Riddin, a seasoned coach, to impart valuable skills to the enthusiastic swimmers.
“This is what I love to do, just being with them in the water and helping them a little bit really brings me joy,” said Le Clos.
The swimmer explained that the clinic was just the start of what the Chad le Clos Foundation aims to achieve in the year ahead.
“This is just the start of many great things to come. We started small, but we’re really going to scale this up big time next year.
“We just want to give back and make sure we’re doing the right things, making sure it’s enjoyable and encouraging for them.”
The Chad le Clos Foundation aims to equip individuals with vital swimming survival techniques and comprehensive water safety education.
Their mission is to promote safe behaviours and positive attitudes toward water bodies, ensuring that all South Africans have access to safe water environments. For many of the swimmers, the opportunity to meet and train with a world-class athlete was a dream come true.
Sixteen-year-old Jesse Smith, one of the swimmers who participated, said the class was fun.
“I was very excited to meet Chad because I have never met anyone famous – he’s an Olympic swimmer and he’s also from South Africa, so that makes it very special.”
The session allowed the young athletes to refine their techniques.
“I learnt that even the smallest changes in swimming make big differences in your time and how fast you are, so my technique definitely got sharpened today,” Smith added.
Lucia Ruiters, coach at Olive Tree Swimming Club, was equally thrilled about the experience.
Ruiters founded the club with the goal of engaging youth in sport to provide a positive alternative to the issues prevalent in Wentworth, among them drug abuse.
“We are so excited to meet Chad,” she said, adding that she had barely slept in the lead-up to the event due to the excitement. “I really feel it’s going to get us to the next level of swimming. I feel that we will get the next Chad (from our club), and we will have children coming out swimming at different levels and making a difference.
“Most of the time, you have people doing well in sport concentrating on themselves, but to be able to come out and realise you need to give what you have to a community that won’t have that opportunity, is very humbling,” Ruiters said of the initiative.
The Mercury