Swimmers from Joburg’s Mandeville Para Swimming Club had another good year at the Midmar Mile.
The Midmar Mile is held annually at a dam near Howick in the KZN midlands and is, arguably, the world’s biggest open water swim, attracting top competitors from around the planet, including the two-time Olympic gold medalist and current Olympic 10k champion, Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands.
James Willers took the gold medal in the category for men with physical disabilities, defending his title and improving his time by a massive four minutes. James’ time was 24:35 mins.
Amkele Qamarana won the silver medal and Slindokuhle Mabanga won the bronze medal in the category for men with hearing impairments. Amkele swam the race in 26:42, more than 2 mins. faster than last year. Slindokuhle’s time was 30:38.
In the category for men with physical disabilities, Nhlakanipho Mabasa [Age 12] finished in 6th place in a time of 33:20 and Lerato Sarelwa [Age 13] came in 7th in a time of 36:25.
All the Mandeville swimmers recorded personal best times. Head coach Tadhg Slattery remarked that the swimmers commitment to training is paying dividends and encouraged them all to keep up the good work, especially as the season for the 2025 major pool-based swimming meets is just around the corner.
Alani Ferreira, the well-known visually impaired paralympic swimmer won the Dea Slattery Memorial Trophy for the best overall swimmer with a disability. Alani said:
“I was privileged to have Olympic Open water champion, Sharon van Rouwendaal, guide me across the dam finishing in a new best of 21:31 – being the first ones out of the dam. Thank you @svrouwendaal for not only sharing your knowledge and expertise in the water, but also your grace and wisdom outside of the water. Winning the Dea Slattery trophy for best disability swimmer was also a moment close to my heart bringing me back to when I first started Para swimming and was lucky enough to actually get to know and learn from Dea. Once again, Midmar showcased what swimming and sport really is all about, bringing people together from all different levels, ages, and places. Thank you @riddinwayne and the @midmarmile team for making this all possible.”
