Aimee-ng for the top Schoolgirl has her future mapped out
A medal at the Olympic Games is her target
● Aimee Canny possesses a friendly nature and an easy laugh outside the pool, but the 16-year-old transforms into a warrior in competition, the water her battleground.
Knysna-based Canny, already 1.81m tall, knows exactly what she wants and has already mapped out her future — next year is boarding school in England and then the Tokyo Olympics, and in 2022 she’ll go to university in the US.
And somewhere on the timeline is her ultimate goal, an Olympic medal.
Canny confirmed her status as a rising star with two gold medals and a national record at the recent SA short course championships in Pietermaritzburg.
SA swimming will continue
She is one of a few youngsters who carry the promise that SA swimming will continue winning silverware at top international galas deep into the decade.
Tatjana Schoenmaker, 23, is already set to take the baton from veteran Chad Le Clos one day, but behind her are the likes of teens Matt Sates, Pieter Coetzé and Canny.
Canny’s coach, Francois Boshoff, has had a few talented swimmers pass through his hands over the years, like Olympic breaststroke champion Cameron van der Burgh as well as multiple world championship backstroke medallist Gerhard Zandberg and freestyle sprinter Gideon Louw.
“These guys are going to kill me for saying this. The most talented guy I ever coached was Gerhard, and Cameron had the strongest mind.
“But Aimee beats both of them on both levels,” he said, adding he was impressed with what he called her grip on the water at high speeds.
Canny’s abilities have already captured the attention of SA’s sprint queen, Erin Gallagher, who saw off the teen in both the 50m and 100m freestyle early this week.
“It sounds arrogant, but I had a couple of years of a little bit of competition, but never this close before,” said Gallagher, who picked up four titles in all, including the 50m and 100m butterfly.
The two of them are friends out of the water, but Gallagher recognises the warrior inside Canny.
“I can see the competitor in her. I’ve been where she is now and I know she’s determined and she’s confident. We mirror each other and we make each other better competitors.” Canny says her mindset shifts shortly before each race.
“As soon as I’m behind the blocks, there’s this zone I try to get into. I’m focusing not on beating the others, but doing the best I can to win.”
She is looking forward to enrolling at Plymouth College in Devon. “I’d just like to train with a bigger squad because it’s basically me training by myself [in Knysna]. There are other kids in my training group, but not at my level.”
Under Boshoff she has increased her repertoire to beyond the sprint events, which showed with her success in the 200m freestyle alongside her 100m individual medley triumph. She also finished third in the 400m freestyle.
Do the most damage
She’s not yet sure in which event she will do the most damage down the line.
At school Canny also played water polo and hockey, winning provincial colours in both codes, but she dropped them around 18 months ago because of mounting injuries.
“I nearly got my eye poked out in water polo — an accidental finger in the eye,” she says with a chuckle. “And I had a couple of injuries in hockey too.
“I miss that team aspect, but swimming was just my No 1 always. I never doubted that.”