SA’s synchro team has high hopes
TWELVE local teenage girls will take on 26 other countries for the title of Junior World Synchronised Swimming Champions next month. While South Africa’s senior team competes regularly on the international stage, this is the third time coach Sue Manners-Wood has taken a group of 15-18-year-olds.
The 15th FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Junior Synchronised Swimming Championships will be held from July 9 to 13 in Kazan, Russia.
The Russian team is ranked number one in the world.
“We are ranked, but ranked down low. We’re still hoping to make finals, at least for the duet,” said Manners-Wood.
The two duet swimmers are Cape Town’s Lisa Wimmer, 16, and Sarah Keyte, 17.
The two have been swimming duet together for about a year, but have been friends much longer.
“People used to ask if we were twins, or if we were duet partners. We always wanted to do a routine together, so we decided to give it a try,” said Sarah.
The duet won first place at two competitions, one at the South Africa Nationals, where they were chosen for the world championship.
“Our biggest goal is to get the highest score SA has ever got at the Junior World Championships. Lisa and I want to go out there and put all the hard work, training and long hours into that one swim we have,” said Sarah.
“Sarah and I understand each other because we’re so similar. We have the same strengths and weaknesses and help one another improve,” Lisa said.
With team members from Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London and Cape Town, travel is the main challenge facing the team.
“We should ideally be training together eight hours a day, four to five days a week. Instead, we have only three training camps before we leave,” Manners-Wood said.
In the interim, the team trains via the web. The girls send videos of routines to Manners-Wood, as well as 400 metre swim times and records of other land-based conditioning activities.
The athletes are self-funded. “That’s where we are seriously disadvantaged. We don’t have the kind of exposure we need,” Manners-Wood said.