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Strydom upbeat about making history again─── 16:56 Tue, 07 Oct 2014
Bloemfontein - The Life Guard, Gavin Strydom says he is looking to rewriting more history books next year following his outstanding performance at the 2014 Rescue Life Saving World Championship held in Montpellier in France recently.
Strydom did not only claim the 13th spot overall, but also broke the South African 100 metre pick up record set by Craig Dingle years ago. Strydom explained that the achievement was the best moment of his career.
“It was a record standing in SA for quite a while in the 100 metre pick up event; the event where one goes 50 metres under the water to pick the manikin up and return it. Craig set a 1:10 and I did 1:08. If it was broken by just 2 seconds, it is a lot, especially in the water,” he told OFM.
He added that despite not participating for a long time, since taking a break, the last minute thorough preparations prior helped him against the world’s best life guards.
“I’ve done this all my life, but took a break. However, this year turning 40 years, I decided that I’m still fit, so I’m going to try and make a comeback.”
“I’m not completely fit, having prepared for about eleven month for this championship. However, it was good for me to make a comeback. I don’t think I did badly, but know I can improve.”
“I entered the Gauteng championship, where I won four gold medals and won four more gold medals at the nationals. So, I was motivated enough to participate in this international tournament,” he stressed.
Participating alongside about 274 world’s best life guards, competition was expected to be fierce, but Strydom was thrilled to finish inside the top 15.
However, he is looking ahead to new challenges; saying that one of his objectives is to break his own record at the national championship next year. He admitted that the Gauteng Championship to be held in January 2015 will be vital as it will prepare him for the national championship to be hosted in Kwazulu-Natal in April.
“I’ve big plans in place already for the championships. I need to start breaking records and picking up points for the next world championship in Holland,” he said.
The next Life Saving World Championship will be held in Holland in 2016. Strydom is optimistic about defending his record and possibly improving it at the next event.
Lee Khotlele / OFM News