Keira van Heerden

Tell us about your earliest swimming memory.

My earliest swimming memory has to be when I won my second ever 100 metre butterfly. I took off a massive 30 seconds. From then on, 100m fly became one of my favourite events.

Why is swimming such a special sport?

Which of your achievements are you the proudest of and why?

I am the proudest of my 50m breaststroke that I swam at the Durban Grand Prix in 2022, because I had not done much sprinting work for my breaststroke before competing. In the final I surprised myself by dropping from a 34,48 as my entry time to a 33,20 and ended up coming 3rd overall.

How do you stay motivated throughout the season?

To stay motivated I think about where and why I started and what I have achieved so far. I focus on everything I have done right and all my personal bests I have swam this season. I try not to beat myself up and look for the positive in every race and what I can work on.

What are your goals for the year ahead?

To podium in all my entered events at SANJ, to swim a junior Olympic qualifying time for 100m breaststroke and 200m IM at the end of the year and to achieve a personal best in all my entered events at SANJ. For lifesaving, I would like to win the 200m Obstacle race, the 50m Manakin Carry and finish within the top three overall position at SA Pool Lifesaving. I would also like to win the Run Swim Run; the Surf Swim, Beach Sprints and the Long run at Surf Lifesaving and finish top two overall position. I want to finish in the top two position at SA Biathlon and be selected for the EP U15A Water Polo SA Schools Team.

What do you do to prepare for a race?

When preparing for a race I do my regular training which is every day of the week except
for a Sunday; I focus on my stroke technique during training; I do stroke drills, practice starts, underwater and turns, and correct my mistakes.

Apart from swimming, what do you do for fun?

Apart from swimming, I run, do biathlon, play water polo and hockey. I also love baking for fun and enjoy waking up to watch the sunrise.

Why are you excited to be a part of the Speedo family?

I am very excited to be a part of the Speedo family because I look up to those that are already in the team and I absolutely love Speedo racers. They are so comfortable when I swim and make me feel like a rocket when I’m competing. The Speedo gear is so unique and I love everything about it.