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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Tucson, AZ, USA |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics : Pietermaritzburg, RSA |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Sociology - Univeristy of Arizona: United States |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Supporting Manchester United. (twitter.com, 04 Mar 2012) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Receiving the MVP award for the U19 South African swimming team which toured Australia. (sealskzn.co.za, 27 Jul 2010) |
| Other sports | He has also played water polo in South Africa at a provincial level. (The Star, 25 Sep 2002) |
| Famous relatives | His sister Cheryl is a swimmer. (arizonawildcats.com, 27 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His mother Rita was a swimming teacher. |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Alex Popov because he has won so many Olympic medals and is the ultimate swimmer. (NOCSA, 01 Jul 2004) |
| Awards and honours | He was Pietermaritzburg's Homegrown Sportsperson of the Year for 2009. (witness.co.za, 10 Dec 2009) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Johno Fergusson |
| Training Regime | Swims up to 6,000 yards [approx 5.5km] per session. He trains twice a day and attends the gym three times a week. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | "I started swimming at home at about two years old, and then joined Seals Swimming Club at seven years old." |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Coach |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "My desire to win. Each time I raced and got beaten, it made me more determined to train harder and become faster. Every time I won, it made me want to win more and break records." (sealskzn.co.za, 27 Jul 2010) |
| Other information | SWIMMING ABROAD He believes that the opportunity of attaining a scholarship in the USA can be beneficial for every swimmer. "For swimmers going over the United States, they are given scholarships and the opportunity to race almost every weekend. And at the end of their four years, they come out with a good degree. Until South African universities are able to offer scholarships to swimmers, I believe swimmers are better suited training in the US." (sealskzn.co.za, 27 Jul 2010) POSSIBLE RETIREMENT He admits he thought about retiring after competing at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. "The moment I really didn't want to swim any more was after Commonwealth Games in 2006, where I swam really poorly. I then had to go swim the NCAA championships. I again swam very badly, but what made it worse was my coach told me I wasn't trying and basically that I sucked. To have someone tell you that is the worst thing an athlete can hear." (sealskzn.co.za, 27 Jul 2010) SWIMSUITS He is a supporter and proponent of swimsuits. "My opinion on the suits is that they should be allowed to stay. I think FINA needs to regulate new advancements in technology a little better from now on. But for FINA to say at the end of the year we are going to go back to fully 'woven' suits, is a major step back for swimming. Yes the new suits have wiped out what many previous great swimmers have done, that is, their records. But the suits haven't taken away their medals or placings at major competitions. They are all still national heroes in their respective countries and idols to many of us." |