Daily Archives: July 7, 2017

Khwezi Duma is a one of SA’s youth stars in swimming. She speaks with much humility and gratefulness for her journey in swimming so far. She is thankful and respectful towards her parents and coaches who support her constantly.  She has had the honour to represented our beautiful rainbow Nation at many occasions.

She says “I am hard working and self-driven to finish the tasks ahead of me and to achieve my goals. I am a child of God and I always try to live my life accordingly. I live with my mom, dad, my 13 year old sister and my 21 year old sister in Kloof, Durban”.

Her favourite quote is deeply motivational “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is the strength. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

Name & Surname	Khwezi Duma
Nick Name	Khwe-Khwe / Khwez / Khwezi Khwez
Date of birth	12 September 2001
Place of birth	Parklane Clinic Johannesburg
Current City	Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal
Height	173 cm
Weight	53 Kgs
Shoe Size	UK 7
Club	Seagulls Swimming Club
Coach’s Name	Graham Hill
Out of Country events/ meets	I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to compete in these numerous tournament outside South Africa. 2012        CANA Zone 3&4 held in Maputo, Mozambique 2014     Australian Age Group Nationals, Sydney, Australia 2014        AUSC Region 5 Under 20 Games held in Bulawayo,      Zimbabwe 2015        Treviso Swim Cup, Venice, Italy 2015       Pescara Swimming Championships, Pescara, Rome 2015       African Junior Championship, Cairo, Egypt 2016        Treviso Swim Cup, Venice, Italy 2016       AUSC Region 5 Under 20 Games, Luanda, Angola 2017        African Junior Championship held in Cairo, Egypt 2017      Mare Nostrum Series – Monaco & Barcelona leg ( XXXVe Meeting International de Natation)
Secondary Sport/ sports	I enjoy running and playing tennis.
Favorite City	California
Favorite Song	I enjoy listening to Beyoncé and Drake.
School & Grade	Our Lady of Fatima Dominican Convent School, Grade 10
Sponsors	Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation
Instagram Facebook	Instagram: khwezzzduma Facebook: Khwezi Duma
Parents Names, siblings	Mother – Yoliswa Duma Father – Justice Duma Older sister – Nothando Duma Younger sister – Kuhle Duma

INTERVIEW:

Q: You are passionate and doing so well in your Swimming, tell me a little bit about how you started in Swimming and your journey in the Swimming arena up to now?

I really enjoy every second I spend in the water swimming, I honestly don’t know what I would do with myself if I didn’t take part in the sport. I enjoy every moment. I love the training, especially when it’s hard because it allows me to push my boundaries by getting out of my comfort zone and I really get surprised when I produce personal best times in training. I love traveling and the amount of opportunities it gives to meet new people, go to new countries and experience new cultures, and how can I forget about the racing? It’s my absolute favorite moment in my career because all the hours, blood, sweat and tears all come down to a couple of races that only last a few seconds. I started swimming in 2009 when I was 7 years old Hartfield Swimming Club, in Kloof, KZN just to gain the necessary water safety skills. In 2011, at the age of 9, I started swimming more frequently after I joined the Seagulls Swimming Club and started training with Delon Dannhauser and Graham Hill and ever since then I’ve been addicted to the water. I honestly love being trained at Seagulls by Delon and Graham because they always push and guide me towards my swimming successes. I also love spending time with my training partners because we lift each other up and bring out the best in each other.

Q: You have been proudly part of Team SA before representing our beautiful nation, where did you go what did that feel like?

I’ve been very blessed to have the opportunity to represent our rainbow nation in numerous events out of South Africa. In 2012 I had the privilege of being selected by Swimming South Africa to represent our Country in Maputo, Mozambique for the CANA Zone 3 and 4 Swimming Championships. Although, I was 10 years old and the youngest in this tournament, I loved racing and meeting new people.  My highlights of this championship was winning a Silver Medal in the 200m Backstroke, a Bronze Medal in the 100m backstroke, 4^th place in the 50m Backstroke and in the 200m IM and placed 5^th in the 100m Butterfly. I enjoyed this tour even through it was a bit scary for me as a natural introvert, I tend to be more reserved.

I then represented South Africa for the second time in 2014 at the AUSC Region 5 under 20 Games in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where I got the opportunity to witness so many S.A. Age Group records being broken and I also got to watch South African seniors race at an elite level. I competed in the 50m Backstroke, 100m Backstroke and 200m Backstroke as well as the 50m Butterfly and 100m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle and 100m Freestyle. This was such an honor as it was my first time wearing the Green and Gold National Tracksuit,

In 2015, I represented South Africa in the Junior African Championships held in Cairo, Egypt. I met many new people and made new friends which whom I share the memories from this tour with. I competed in the 50m Backstroke, 100m backstroke as well as the 50m butterfly and the 100m butterfly. I placed third in the 100m butterfly and won a bronze medal and I also came second in the 100m backstroke and won a silver medal.

I was selected again in 2016 to be part of the team competing in the AUSC (African Union Sports Council) Region 5 Under 20 Youth Games in Angola. I competed in the 50m Backstroke, 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly and 100m Butterfly. I was very proud of myself when I made it to the finals of the 100m backstroke and swam personal bests in all my other events as well.

In March 2017 I was selected to be part of a team to compete in the African Junior Championship held in Cairo, Egypt. I competed in the 50m Backstroke and 100m Backstroke and won a Bronze medal for the 50m Backstroke.

Q: Who are you? 

I’m a 15 year old Grade 10 student at Our Lady of Fatima Dominican Convent School, a swimmer at Seagulls Swimming Club under the leadership of Graham Hill and Delon Dannhauser. I am hard working and self-driven to finish the tasks ahead of me and to achieve my goals. I am a child of God and I always try to live my life accordingly. I live with my mom, dad, my 13 year old sister and my 21 year old sister in Kloof, Durban.

Q: What is the highest accolade that you have achieved in Swimming and what is your greatest personal accomplishment?

My highest accolade was competing in the Mare Nostrum Series and swimming in the B finals in the Monaco leg and improving my personal best times in the Barcelona leg. I swam the 100m Butterfly, 100m Backstroke as well as the 50m Backstroke in the B finals of the Monaco leg.

Q: Why do you have so much love and respect for your coachs?

I have so much respect for my swimming and conditioning coaches because they are inspiring and always motivating me and for the time that I have worked with them they have taught me a lot in and out of the pool.

Q: What is your favorite food? And who must cook it 🙂 ?

Prawn stir-fry with spinach and mushrooms. Cooked by my mom.

Q: So you swim well and are doing well in academics but name 1 thing that you suck at 🙂

I’m really bad at table tennis because I’ve got quite bad hand – eye coordination and I can’t get the ball quick enough.

Q: What is your personal favorite motivational quote?

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is the strength. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Q: What is your favourite Bible?

1 Corinthians 16:13 – Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

Psalm 23:1 –The lord is my Shepard, I lack nothing.

Q: What is your definition of success in life?

Success is being able to do what you love and reach your goals while enjoying the process.

Q: What’s your WHY?  

I swim because the water is my happy place and when I’m swimming I just forget about all that stresses me as I am in my element. I see myself having a major influence on the continents youth by guiding other young people and I hope to be somebody’s role model or mentor in the near future.

Q: Anything else you would like to share?

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to take this interview and I one day hope to inspire other young athletes.

 Thank you so much for taking this interview. We would like to wish you all the best for your journey ahead. We look forward to following you as you go from strength to strength. Blessings!