The 34th South African Masters’ Swimming Nationals were held at the Hillcrest Swimming Pool in Pretoria from the 14th to the 18th March 2018. Swimmers from around the country as well as Botswana, Great Britain, Namibia and Poland entered.
Glenwood old boy and current teacher, Tyrel van Reenen, swam in six individual events in the 35 – 39 year old category. He won gold medals for the 800 Freestyle and the 200 Backstroke, silver medals for the 100 Butterfly, 200 Breaststroke and the 400 IM and a Bronze medal for the 100 Breaststroke.
In the relay events his team won gold for the 4*50 Medley relay and silver for the 4*50 Mixed Medley relay. Mr van Reenen was also selected as the Captain for the East Coast team which was a true honour.
The final standings of the gala saw KZN East Coast Masters being placed in fifth position which is a fine achievement in the fact that they only had 21 swimmers. This is far less than Coelacanths from Northern or Western Cape who had far larger teams.
2019 will see the Championships take place in Port Elizabeth and Mr van Reenen hopes to improve on this year’s performances.
Report by Mr Tyrel van Reenen