Madibaz swimming captain Dylan Botha won bronze in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the University Sport SA gala in Pretoria earlier this month.
Despite the challenges of competing at altitude, the pair picked up three bronze medals between them in Pretoria earlier this month.
Botha, who captained the team, placed third in the 100m (1:07.66) and 200m (2:31.09) breaststroke, his speciality discipline. Swanepoel was third in the 200m butterfly (2:46.88).
They are hoping to kick on from those performances to deliver more Madibaz magic at the SA short-course champs in Durban from September 26 to 29.
Botha said he was targeting even better performances.
“The goal is to definitely improve my times across the board at the short-course champs. I am looking to, at least, make the podium in the 200m breaststroke.”
He added that a short-course gala, which is held in a 25m pool instead of the standard 50m Olympic size, presented very specific challenges.
“These competitions require a lot more leg power to get off the walls quicker and better breath control to hold your underwater work.”
He felt that he had not fulfilled his expectations at the USSAs following a tough start in the 200m.
“That is an event I have never done before and it had an impact on my recovery prior to my main races. The altitude affects your recovery time and performances as you are not getting much oxygen into your blood.”
Botha is working on improving his stamina to better deal with the onset of fatigue in the final stretch of his races.
Swanepoel’s build-up to the tertiary event had been impacted due to a shoulder injury and illness in the weeks prior.
“In view of that, I did my best not to put any pressure on myself and my goal was just to do my best. The positive for me was I managed to achieve that and I was happily surprised with my efforts.”
Despite the rarified air, her performances “restored some of my confidence in the pool” after her rehab had kept her out of competition since the nationals in Gqeberha in April.
“Swimming in a 25-metre pool means there is a lot of focus on your underwater work as that is one way of pulling ahead,” Swanepoel, who is focusing on this aspect ahead of the champs, explained.
In addition, she was honing her condition for long-distance open-water events in the coming months.