PE lifesavers’ hopes high for Japan event
KINGS Beach Surf Lifesaving Club athletes Bradley Odendaal, 19, and Byron Lockett, 26, will be chasing gold in the two-day Sanyo International Lifesaving Cup competition in Fukuoka, Japan, from June 24.
The Port Elizabeth lifesavers qualified for the South Africa team at the national championships held in Camps Bay recently.
Odendaal and Lockett will make up half of the national team to compete in the men’s senior division.
Odendaal has nine years of experience in the lifesaving category and won six gold medals for South Africa in last year’s World Championship in the Netherlands.
He is hoping to maintain his winning streak and be an inspiration to Port Elizabeth teammate Lockett, who will be specialising in the surf discipline and has not yet competed in an international event.
“Having participated in the World Championships last year and coming first in beach sprints, flags and the relay, I am really amped to do well this year and bring more gold medals for the country,” Odendaal said.
“The competition is high at the international events and one needs to really put in the hours if you want to do well and win events of that calibre.”
In addition to competing in lifesaving competitions professionally, the duo volunteer at the Kings Beach Surf Lifesaving Club where they do weekly duties on Sundays.
They also train nippers as part of their mission to development children who aspire to be lifesavers.
The pair, together with Kings Beach surf lifesaving coach Tess Kotze, are working at raising the R26 000 each needs to fund their trip to Japan.
Odendaal and Lockett are excited at the prospects of making the team to represent South Africa in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.