Swimming veteran Schoeman eyes 2016 Rio Games
OLYMPIC gold medallist Roland Schoeman strongly believes SA swimming has a promising future but he is not ready to step out of the pool just yet — far from it.
After qualifying for his fifth Commonwealth Games, Schoeman asked those who feel he should put his swimsuit away to meet him at his hotel to discuss those opinions over a cup of tea.
At 33, Schoeman still clocks times that rival the current generation’s young hot shots Chad le Clos and Brad Tandy.
He is even looking ahead to the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, which will be his fifth appearance at the mega global sport showpiece.
After clocking the fourth-fastest 50m freestyle time in the world in qualifying at the national championships in Durban last week (22.04), Schoeman believes opinion that he should retire is merely conjecture.
“People are entitled to their opinions but the stopwatch doesn’t lie,” said Schoeman.
“The great thing about swimming is that it is not about somebody’s judgment call or based on an ex- ternal points system — success is measured by the clock.
“Early-season rankings put me in the top three or four in the world in the disciplines I participate in. I’m seeded No 1 in the 50m butterfly for the Commonwealth Games and I believe I’m going to put myself in a
People are entitled to their opinions but the stopwatch doesn’t lie
position to win medals in that event as well as the 50m freestyle.
“Nobody else will determine the day I retire but me. I’m swimming faster than I was when I was Chad’s age.
“The misconception is that swimming is a young man or woman’s sport but just like any other sport, the more professional you are the longer you last. Dara Torres won an Olympic silver medal at 41 years old.
“Representing SA in five Olympic Games would be the pinnacle for me. I don’t think another South African has ever done that.”
Schoeman, along with eight other swimmers, will go to Glasgow, Scotland, in July amid doubt whether the country’s ability to produce top swimmers is advancing.
The US-based swimmer believes there are more world-class athletes that will come out of the SA incubator like Dylan Bosch and Tandy but is disappointed in corporate SA’s lack of faith in them.
He is tired of the suits coming up to take “selfies” with medal winners after Olympic events, and then go into hiding with their money during the four years in between.