Jamie Els, 12, is swimming 110 km in ten days to raise funds for disabled swimmers. Photograph: Supplied
A 12-year-old Bergvliet girl is aiming to swim 110km in ten days to raise money to help more disabled swimmers compete in galas.
Jamie Els, a Grade 6 pupil at Bergvliet Primary School, started taking swimming lessons at the age of 3, and she began to swim competitively with the Aqua Dolphins Swimming Club at the age of 9.
Jamie is ranked third for the 800m freestyle and seventh for the 400m freestyle for her age group in the country, according to the SA swimming rankings for the 2023/2024 swimming season that were released in May.
“Jamie is the first swimmer from the club to take on this challenge for a purpose. It is an awesome initiative. It also brings awareness to Paralympic athletes who have to put in double the workload than our able bodied athletes do,” said Shrone Austin, head coach at the swimming club.
Jamie started her swimming challenge on Wednesday June 19, and she plans to complete the 110km by tomorrow, Friday June 28, by swimming more than 10km daily at Bergvliet Primary School’s 25m heated outdoor pool.
Jamie’s mother, Michelle Els, said: “We are incredibly proud of Jamie, especially because this is not a cause that impacts our day-to-day living. I also have to thank Jamie's coaches, Shrone Austin and Shannon Austin, from Aqua Dolphins Swimming Club, for all their effort that they have put in to make this possible.”
Donations to the fund-raising swim can be made on the back-a-buddy campaign page.