This Post is Proudly Sponsored by Wonder Towel – www.wondertowel.co.za – Eco-friendly Microfibre Towels for every occassion: #EcoFriendlyLuxury4Life
Gratefulness makes you powerful. This beautiful quality so clearly comes through as I connect in this interview with young swimming champion girl – Talea Claasens. She has a will and determination of steel to not just succeed but the find the good and the positive in all areas in swimming and in life.
Talea is grounded in her Faith in Christ and has a bright future ahead of her. She is going from strength to strength on her swim journey as she has just competed at Junior and Senior nationals. She is a true leader and is set on leaving a brilliant legacy for our young swimmers. She is Team Captain for the TUKS swim quad at the SAX training facility, and takes the position seriously as she strives to motivate and encourage our youth to reach for their dreams.
She says “I am a girl who cannot live without swimming, I am a very bubbly person, I’m almost never silent. I care deeply for the people around me and for the environment. I am forgiving, hard working, determined and passionate about everything I put my mind to. I believe that once you start something you have to finish it. I love to look on the bright side of situations although it isn’t always the easiest thing to do.”
Athlete: Bio / Stats |
|
| Name & Surname | Talea J Claassens |
| Nick Name | TJ |
| Date of birth | 15 July 2000 |
| Place of birth | Centurion |
| Current City | Centurion |
| Height | 166 |
| Weight | 54 |
| Shoe Size | 4/5 |
| Club | Tuks Swimming |
| Coach’s Name | Keenan Riffle and Rocco Mering |
| Out of Country events | Golfinhos Sprint Gala |
| Secondary Sports | Cross Country and Athletics |
| Favorite City | Washington |
| Favorite Song/ type of music | Shape of you – Ed Sheeran |
| Favorite Movie | The Notebook |
| School & Grade | Southdowns College, Grade 11 |
| Instagram
|
talea_claassens
Talea J Claassens |
| Parents Names, siblings | Mom: Michelle Leslie
Dad: Niel Claassens Brother: Calin Claassens |
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?
My swimming career started when I was very young, I had to start attending swimming because I had fallen into the pool and almost drowned and at the same time my brother was busy doing competitive. I then started to do competitive swimming alongside him. Since then I’ve gone from struggling to qualify for Level 2 ( new level 3) to swimming my second Junior National gala and first Youth National gala.
Q: Who are you?
I am a girl who cannot live without swimming, I am a very bubbly person, I’m almost never silent. I care deeply for the people around me and for the environment. I am forgiving, hardworking, determined and passionate about everything I put my mind to. I believe that once you start something you have to finish it. I love to look on the bright side of situations although it isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
Q: What is the highest accolade that you have achieved in Swimming and what is your greatest personal accomplishment?
My greatest personal accomplishment would be when I qualified for Junior Nationals in 2015, to me this meant that all my hard work had finally paid off and that every early morning and late night next to the pool was and will always be worth it. My highest accolade would be when I was announced Female Team Captain to the Tuks group who train at SAX arena because it made me realize that putting inspiration into young swimmers/athletes/ kids is one of the most important lessons in life otherwise they might never realize their talents.
Q: Would you like to share a little bit more about your faith journey and how it has affected your life / sports?
I believe that God is the reason I am able to be doing what I am and every chance I get, I thank him for keeping me safe and focused on what is important and what is not.
Q: In your opinion, what is the value of Education in a young person’s life?
Education is everything. Without education our world would not be as evolved as it is today, education shapes our future and develops new and improved ways to better our world everyday. I also firmly believe that our bodies are growing old and one day we might not be able to do the things we are able to do now, but our minds will be able to.
Q: So you swim well and are doing well in academics but name 1 thing that you suck at?
I suck at Hockey, I can’t hit a ball with a stick to save my life.
Q: What is your favorite meal and who must cook it?
I am a sucker for hot-dogs, I don’t mind who makes them if in the end I get a hot-dog, I am happy.
Q: What or where do you draw inspiration from?
I find inspiration in the people around me, the people who are having the worst possible day but still smile at the end of it, the people who are struggling but keep struggling because they know at the end it’s going to be worth it. I find my inspiration in the people who decide to never say never.
Q: What is your biggest challenge currently , and what do you do to manage this challenge?
- The biggest challenge for me was to move from an Afrikaans school to an English school in Grade 10, I found it difficult to understand some of the English terminology but I made the effort to study extra hard and when I don’t understand something to figure it out.
Q: What’s your WHY ?
I swim because to me swimming is like breathing, it something I can’t live without. I do it because I love the feeling after a race when you have given it your all, that feeling when your legs are numb and your muscles are burning. I swim because when I hear my coach say: ” Talea, Talea, Talea…” no matter the words that follow I would always feel a rush of relief because someone who inspired me is busy taking time to teach or congratulate me. I swim because every time I jump into the water it feels like I’m home. I swim because swimming makes me feel at peace and happy.
I want to inspire people to give it their all to feel the numbing feeling in your body and to feel the pride after giving it your all, I want to help people realize that they are not the only ones who struggle and that they can trust the people around them. I want to motivate people to better themselves daily and to better themselves with a smile on their face and to do it because they want to not because someone else told them to.
Q: What are you most grateful for at the moment?
I am also most grateful for the brilliant coaches that I have who are always pushing me to my limits and further and I am so grateful to Kaitlyn Albertyn who has helped me become more positive and more enthusiastic about the little things in life and my parents who made me who I am.
Q: Anything else you would like to share?
Something that I live by is that nothing is impossible because the word impossible itself says I’m possible- Michael Phelps
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!
This Post is Proudly Sponsored by Wonder Towel – www.wondertowel.co.za – Eco-friendly Microfibre Towels for every occassion: #EcoFriendlyLuxury4Life
