Nipper Cayden brings home national medals
Young Port Alfred lifesaving star wins SA title
Eight-year-old Cayden Claassen of Port Alfred is fast making a name for himself as a nipper after earning six medals (four gold) at the recent National SA Life Saving Championships in Durban which saw him being crowned the SA U9 lifesaving champion.
The Grade 3 Kingswood College Junior School pupil. who is just as adept in the pool, started swimming lessons at the age of three in Harare, Zimbabwe, where he lived with his dad, Darryl, mom, Marynell, and younger sister, Jazz, before moving to Port Alfred three years ago.
The SA championships comprised three days of competition in the pool at Kings Park and should have included three surf ocean events which were cancelled due to unsafe water quality, said Marynell.
Cayden, despite the strenuous competition in the Kings Park pool, which featured races over 50m and 100m that included swimming with obstacles, showcased his talents and he got through his events with ease.
Carrying a manikin (model of the human body) in the appropriate manner, while swimming and participating in a few relays, formed part of the pool programme.
Cayden’s six-medal haul (four gold and two silver) saw him earn the Victor
Ludorum prize and if that wasn’t enough, he broke the national record for the 50m manikin race in a time of 53:20 to better the previous mark of 54:60.
Cayden, who turns nine next month, joined the Summerstrand Surf Lifesaving Club in Gqeberha in December and took to it like a duck to water.
“He completed the level one test to swim competitively and entered his first event, the EC Regional Lifesaving Championships in Jeffreys Bay in February,” Marynell said.
“He did extremely well, winning some medals by winning the ocean races and paddle boarding which is 300m of ocean swimming.”
The young swimming star has represented the Albany District team in the annual inter-districts gala three times against the Amatole and Karoo teams where he won an impressive number of medals.
Earlier this year he broke a record in the Albany trials for freestyle and at the Albany gala for breaststroke.
Marynell says though Cayden does well in the classroom and in his chosen sport, he also excels at cricket (his next love), hockey, rugby and tennis.
“As parents we don’t push him into anything. We believe everything [in a child] has to come naturally with hard work and consistency.”
And, of course, Cayden’s attachment to water sports comes naturally.
“I love swimming and that’s why I am good at it,” says a confident Cayden. “I love the water, I just love swimming.
“I never expected that. I only expected one medal. I was very excited when I received the medals. My teachers are very happy for me and I feel great that they are happy.”
Cayden trains twice a week for an hour in Port Alfred and Makhanda and continues training through the winter in indoor pools, says Marynell.
His sister, seven-year-old Jazz, who is also at Kingswood College Junior School, is a talented swimmer, too, and has joined the micro nipper ranks with Summerstrand.
Cayden is on the brink of becoming an A league swimmer when the new swimming season starts on May 1 with PEA Swimming Club.
“Hopefully he can qualify as a level two swimmer and move on from there to level three and finally a national swimmer,” Marynell said.
“We, as parents, consider swimming a life skill and are very proud of both our children.
“Being a nipper is a fantastic programme for all children, getting kids outdoors and on the beach, meeting new people, getting exposure and building confidence, and going to different places, too.