Rising swimming star Jonker shines at African Games, admits it 'was mentally challenging'
Swimming South Africa is one of the sporting codes that has finished competing at the African Games and floated away with 46 medals comprising, 17 gold, 16 silver and 13 bronze.
South African swimmer Tayla Jonker competing at the African Games in Ghana. Picture by Roger Sedres/ Team SA.
JOHANNESBURG – Team South Africa is currently competing in the 13th African Games hosted in Ghana from 8 to 23 March 2024.
Swimming South Africa is one of the sporting codes that has finished competing and floated away with 46 medals comprising 17 gold, 16 silver and 13 bronze.
Eyewitness News caught up to rising star Tayla Jonker who brought home five medals (3 silver and 2 gold).
"Yes, I got 3 silver medals for the 50m, 100m, 200m backstroke and gold for the women's 4x100 medley relay and mixed 4x100 medley relay."
Jonker said that this gala was mentally challenging but she trusted God to get her through.
"To be honest, this gala was mentally challenging. I was going back into hard training and my body was exhausted. The gala did not go as planned, but my coach says we are right on track with the lead-up to senior nationals. I just focused on the bigger plan because you can’t always swim well. God has a plan with you."
Jonker said that her favourite competition at the African Games was the relays and the camaraderie that comes with competing in a relay.
"The mixed relay was directly after my 200 backstroke and I still managed to swim a decent time, which made me quite positive towards the gala and reminded me I am fit even though my body is tired. The women's medley relay is always a blast, with the best and most supportive teammates."
South Africa is represented across 17 different sporting codes at the African Games including, for the first time at a multi-code Games, arm wrestling and cricket. Eight of these sporting codes (athletics, badminton, cycling, swimming, table tennis, tennis, triathlon and wrestling) are Paris 2024 Olympics qualification events.
"The African Games taught us to adjust to the circumstances. The food was not ideal but all the swimmers made a plan. Most of us were surviving on crackers and tuna. The heat dehydrated all of us but we still made sure to drink enough water and electrolytes. But the team made all of it worth it."
In February, the youngster broke the South African record in the women’s 50m backstroke, clocking 28.37 in the first-round heats in her inaugural World Championships semifinal.
The Pretoria-born athlete fell in love with swimming at the age of 6, when her cousin threw her into the deep end of the pool.
"It’s a funny story. I couldn’t even swim in the deep end when I was 6-years-old, despite having swim lessons at least once a week. My eldest cousin got irritated one day because we were all playing around and they didn’t want me to feel excluded.
"She decided to throw me into the deep end, forcing me to swim. When I realised I could swim in the deep end, that's when my love and passion for swimming started. I would always swim around or play in the water wherever I got the chance."
Jonker told Eyewitness News that one of the lessons she had learned over the years was that swimming had its ups and downs.
"You can’t always swim well. God has a plan and everything will happen at the right time."