Are champions born or made? It’s an age-old debate and the answer is probably that it’s a combination of both. Early in the evening of Monday, 11th March, at the Borteyman Sports Complex Aquatics Center in Accra, we learnt that both apply to Catherine van Rensburg.
The 19-year-old returned from the 13th African Games as the outstanding swimmer in a Team SA squad that topped the medals table with 46 medals. She won four individual golds, and a relay gold, along with an individual bronze for her own haul of six.
However, it was the 400m freestyle gold which showed her character, and refusal to accept defeat. Before we go there, let’s just run through her finals programme: 9th March, gold in the 1500m freestyle. 10th March, bronze in the 200m freestyle. 11th March, gold in the 400m freestyle and the anchor role in Team SA’s 4x200m freestyle gold. 12th March, gold in the 400m individual medley. 13th March, gold in the 800m freestyle.
“The most enjoyable races for me were definitely the 1500m and the 400m freestyle,” the teenager says. “Usually the 800m is my favourite event, but my body was exhausted at the end of the gala. I just felt that my body responded to the challenge of the Games and I gave it all in all my events.
“In the lead up to the 400m my emotions built up as I realised that the Egyptian swimmer (Lojine Hamed) could beat me and I was determined to not let her. So that win and that gold medal was particularly satisfying and emotional. It was great to have shared that moment with my friend Hannah Mouton, who won bronze. My time (4:17.92) was also very good given that we were not tapered for the event.”
Van Rensburg had opened up her Games campaign by winning the 1500m freestyle by 26 seconds, and even in her last event of an exhausting programme, she won the 800m by 18 seconds. To say that she has a champion mindset and will to win, to go with a natural-born talent probably answers the question we started with.
The senior phase teaching student at the University of Pretoria trains with Olympians like Tatjana Schoenmaker and Kaylene Corbett under the expert eye of coach Rocco Meiring and in fact could have been the latest from the conveyer belt of breaststroke champions South Africa seems to keep producing. She has risen through the ranks as a freestyle distance swimmer, but it wasn’t always that way.
“I was and still am a bit of a breaststroker,” she says. “My first coach, Wim Potgieter, was a breaststroke specialist. My freestyle only developed when I moved to Linda de Jager and through her help I developed a love for freestyle. I am now coached by Rocco who has helped me the most with both my technique and pushes me with challenging sets.
“He is a coach who wants his swimmers to be conscious of what they are doing and why. He changed my stroke which used to be very smooth to what I call a pam-pum style like Katie Ledecky and which is more like the men swim. I still enjoy my breaststroke, but it gets difficult to balance the two styles and to excel at both.”
Those eagle-eyed followers will have noticed that her individual golds in Ghana came from 400m to 1500m, while the bronze was in the 200m. “I have always been a distance swimmer. This was mainly because I used to be one of the smallest in my age group and a late developer who could not compete with the bigger stronger girls.
“That has changed but I am still not able to increase my stroke rate to be a successful sprinter. Sprinting has just never seemed to be in my blood and I have also participated in open water as well, going to the 2022 World Championship in 2022. I prefer the longer distances where I feel free and not rushed through the water. Doing the long distances makes me feel safe, calm and it’s like it comes more naturally to me to swim a distance event.”
One could say that she is in it for the long haul. These African Games have been a game-changer for her, as she eyes the upcoming Nationals and her career down the lines.
“Accra was definitely a major highlight for me. I think the timing of the event in my career will prove to be significant. I was at a stage where I was feeling stuck and insecure in my own ability to achieve my swimming goals. Ghana has given me confidence and the belief that my goals are achievable. It has also opened my eyes to the areas that I need to work on and provided me answers on where I can cut more seconds from my time.”
On the immediate horizon are those Nationals in April and her 2024 goal is to qualify for the World Short-Course Championships in December.
“My big dream is Olympics, but when I go I don’t just want to say I went to Olympics. I want to make a final and make South Africa proud. So, the next big thing is to qualify for World Short Course, the 2026 Commonwealth Games and then the 2028 Olympics.”
When speaking to her, one needs to be reminded that she’s still only 19. Swimming is her life and a career in teaching is what she is pursuing and she will always put her family first. “I love my family. We always make sure to do things together even when it is the smallest things. I am one of four kids and recently become and aunt and I love my niece to bits.”
A typical day for her means she wakes up at 4.30am for training, which is swimming and gym. “After training I have a good breakfast before going to varsity. After varsity, depending on the day and time I finish, I coach.” That swim coaching is done at Hatfield Christian School. It’s to make some money on the side and share my love for swimming to other people. I also teach Learn to Swim with Lisa Els and am in the process of becoming qualified in that field.
“And like every swimmer would say, we snack during the day and we never stop eating. I also have to attend to my homework and assignments when I get home at night. I ensure that I have a good night’s rest and try to get to bed by 9pm.”
Some of her “quiet time” is spent scrolling through TikTok and listening to Spotify. I love listening to music. It calms me down and always puts me in a better mood. TikTok is just there to do when I’m bored.”
Now, you still want to know whether champions are born or made? Nothing comes easily for a champion swimmer. The sacrifices are huge and without total dedication true potential isn’t maximised. Catherine van Rensburg is well on the way to fulfilling all hers.
Images by Roger Sedres in Accra
