The Super Seals Swimming Club has once again underlined its dominance in Free State aquatics, taking to the top of the podium at the Free State Championships under the steady hand of experienced coach Simon Gray.
Gray’s coaching story dates back to 1986, when he first took charge of the then Bloemfontein Seals – a club that would later evolve into the current Super Seals in 2002.
In a remarkable 40-year coaching career in Bloemfontein, Gray’s teams have now claimed the provincial crown an impressive 34 times, cementing his status as one of South Africa’s most decorated and influential swimming coaches.
This year proved to be no different and brought about a new wave of excellence. The Super Seals collected an impressive 241 medals – 91 gold, 81 silver and 69 bronze – while also breaking 16 Free State records. The results reflected not only the depth of the club, but also the growing number of standout individual performers.
The list of record breakers was impressive: Dané de Klerk led the way with five new records, followed by Jo Nagel (four records), Connor le Gassick (three records) and Petrus Swart (two records), while Leandri Prinsloo, Milan Pretorius and Liam Jonker each added one new record to round off a memorable campaign.
Gray, a former Olympian, was full of praise for his swimmers, describing their performances as some of the best he has ever seen.
“The hard work, dedication and passion of the Super Seals swimmers have paid off,” Gray told the Bloemfontein Courant, clearly proud of both the results and the energy within the squad.
He added that the club’s growth and the athletes’ hunger for improvement were key to the weekend’s success.
“The club is growing and they have all done incredibly well.
“I bring new innovations every year – I never stick to the same programs. I’m constantly researching and trying different things. Overall, this was my best Free State Championships ever.”
Gray explained that a special twelve-week training cycle laid the foundation for the swimmers’ excellent times.
“The children achieved perfect times. They all enjoyed it and as you can see they all swam personal bests. In the longer races they improved between 10 and 20 seconds, and in the shorter races between 2 and 4 seconds.
“It was amazing. As a coach I would say it was the best championship I’ve ever had so far.” – MORGANE PEAK
Morgan Piek
www.bloemfonteincourant.co.za