Golden Mile Swimming: Company we keep
Golden mile swimming Master swimmer Mr. Champion with Monica at the training pool
In Swimming, the company we keep serves at the best of times as an inspiration. Swimming is just one of those sports people take part in from young to old. When older, the swimmers are known as Master swimmers.
Meet Mr. Vince Champion, master swimmer and Golden mile (Midmar) winner. Mr. Champion is religious about his daily training. We see him daily at the gym where we train and we became friends with Mr. Champion as we all have swimming in common.
Mr. Champion is also an avid Monica supporter and really admires Monica’s ability to train on her own. I guess he also finds inspiration from this young swimmer on a daily basis. Mr. Champion started speaking to Dad Coach in 2014 when we first started to train at the gym. This master swimmer takes an active interest in Monica’s progress and always want to know how she is doing a the swim meet.
The Midmar mile open water swimming
The Midmar mile is an annual open water swim held at the Midmar Dam North of Pietermaritzburg. Famous swimmers such as Ryk Neethling swam and won the event. In 2009, a record number of 13,755 entries were received which was recognized by the Guinness book or world records as the biggest open water swimming event.
Golden mile swimming:
The Golden mile open water swim takes place during the annual Midmar mile held in Kwazulu Natal South Africa. Gold collector’s item medals are awarded to all competitors who finish within 60 minutes. Trophies are also awarded to the winners of each category and to the oldest female and male swimmer.
Winner of the Golden mile trophy:
Inscription on the Golden mile swimming trophy – “You have overcome adversity”
Mr. Champion told us that he was in a vehicle accident and had to swim as part of his physiotherapy and recovery process. He trained for a period of 6 years and then swam the Golden mile, which he 60 minutes 25 seconds which earned him the Golden mile trophy.
Mr. Champion was so proud of his achievement and he wanted to share his story with us that he bought his trophy to the gym to show it off. It is an honor to know people like this and it serves as an inspiration for Monica to know that swimming is not just a sport for young children, but also when you are older.
Mica and the masters:
Monica has a history with Masters swimmers. In December 2014, our family joined in the Masters swimming fun during the last swim meet where Monica swam in a couple of events including the fun Christmas relay. Being part of these unique events teaches humility, respect and swimming fun regardless of age.