Two young swimmers, 18-year-old Callan Lotter and 20-year-old Connor Albertyn, will lead the South African challenge at this weekend’s aQuellé Midmar Mile, heading into the race as the top-seeded local swimmers.
Albertyn finished as the first South African in last year’s men’s race, second behind Australian Nick Sloman. And while Lotter’s best result at Midmar was an eighth place in 2023, the Pretoria-based swimmer has had a great build-up to this year’s race, dominating the seeding swims in which she has competed.
While a strong contingent of South African swimmers will line up on the starting pontoon on Sunday, the duo are likely to also receive a stiff challenge from New Zealand’s 5km open water champions – Ruby Heath and Louis Clark, who earned their tickets to the aQuellé Midmar Mile by winning their respective national titles.
Both men’s and women’s races remain wide open, however, with both defending champions (Sloman and Tory Earle) choosing not to compete this year.
“My training and preparation for Midmar is going well,” explained Lotter. “My results have given me enough confidence needed heading into the race.”
The speedy teen admitted a win at the famous KwaZulu-Natal dam would mean the world to her.
“I race every race to win and to do my best in the race,” she said. “A win at Midmar will make me very proud of myself. I think it is one of the most prestigious races of the open waters and winning it will mean a lot to me.”
The elite women’s field includes two former champions in Stephanie Houtman (2022) and Michelle Weber (2016 and 2021) with 2023 champion – two-time Olympic gold medallist Sharon van Rouwendaal – choosing to swim in the women’s 31-40 age category.
Like Lotter, Albertyn has enjoyed a solid build-up to this year’s race, winning several of the seeding swims.
“It is going to be a good race with a strong field in both the men’s and women’s races,” he said. “I am definitely aiming for the win but with so many strong contenders, it is going to be a close race and possibly one of the most exciting races ever.
“In 2018, I won the 13 and under race and I think it is everyone’s dream to win the elite event too. It would also mean following in the steps of Midmar legends such as Chad Ho, Troyden Prinsloo and Myles Brown who won the junior race… and eventually ended up as Olympians,” added Albertyn, who completed his first aQuellé Midmar Mile at the age of seven.
The Pretoria swimmer pointed to his training partners, Ruan Breytenbach, Henré Louw and Sven van der Linde as his toughest rivals along with the likes of Matthew Caldwell and Ross Paterson.
“The addition of international swimmers such as Louis Clark make the race even more exciting as he is a bit of an unknown factor. Midmar is always a race with a twist and there are many talented, up-and-coming SA open water swimmers who have the potential to surprise us all,” he added.
Both the men’s and women’s elite races take place on Sunday, 9 February to wrap up the aQuellé Midmar Mile weekend.
Those still hoping to participate in the event can enter at the dam on the day as online entries are now closed.
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Sport Trivia: Which South African athelete won the 100 metres at the Olympic Games in London in 1908? Answer: Reggie Walker won the 100 metres at the Olympic Games in London in 1908, the first South African, and the first African, to win the Olympic 100 metres title.