Coach wants pools opened for stars

Pretoria-based swimming coach Rocco Meiring says it is vital his two breaststroke stars‚ Tatjana Schoenmaker and Kaylene Corbett‚ get back into the water as soon as possible.

The lockdown-enforced period of land-based training‚ which has continued for more than 50 days‚ was taking its toll‚ he warned.

Meiring is supporting the call by SA head coach Graham Hill for pools to be reopened for Olympic squad swimmers to train. He said Schoenmaker — the first SA woman to win a World Championship swimming medal when she claimed the 200m breaststroke silver in 2019 — was at risk of losing her world-beating form.

Corbett had sustained hip and knee injuries due to training on land‚ he said.

“Since 2017 the most extended break Tatjana took from training was 14 days‚” Meiring said. “It has now been 56 days in which I could not coach her.

“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realise it is going to have a severe impact on her performance. I don’t want to contemplate what will happen if another four to five weeks lapse before she is allowed to swim.”

Public pools have been shut because of the lockdown aimed at flattening the curve of the Covid-19 pandemic. Training in private pools is not possible‚ at least in Gauteng‚ because of the cold temperature.

“Swimmers are the only athletes who can’t train on land‚” Meiring said. “It took Kaylene Corbett two years of huge sacrifices and long, hard hours in the pool to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

“After she had done that she was super-motivated to be at her best. It is that dedication that led to her getting injured.

“It is going to take time for her to fully recover and regain confidence in her body’s abilities. The reality is that no breaststroke swimmer who wants to perform at the highest level can afford knee or hip injuries.”