Somerset West teenager Kate Allwood, a Grade 10 learner at Somerset College, returned from Brazil on Sunday 21 January after representing South Africa at the first ever World Deaf Youth Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The 15-year-old is coached by Clinton le Sueur from Aquasharks in Somerset West.
The event hosted young athletes and swimmers from across the globe, and Kate was the only athlete to represent South Africa. She was accompanied by her coach, Terence Parkin who is based in Johannesburg.
Parkin was the only deaf swimmer to be part of the World Aquatics elite rankings in 1999 and 2000 and held the record for winning the most medals in Deaflympics history (33).
In the swim Kate faced stiff competition from strong teams representing Poland, Japan, Italy, Germany, Taiwan and others.
She set Personal Best times in all her events and swam in five finals, placing sixth in the 200 m individual medley, and seventh in both the 200 m free and 100 m backstroke finals. The level of competition was high and experience of her first international competition invaluable.
As one of the younger competitors, Kate flew the SA flag high, and made many friends in the pool.
“It was an incredible experience. It was amazing to meet my competition from overseas and I made some lovely friends from Ireland, Japan and Mexico.
“It was very different swimming in an international gala, especially because I am so accustomed to swimming in the South African environment.”
The SA Consul-General in Sao Paulo, Tinkiyo Kumalo, was supportive of the team’s visit; she attended the opening ceremony and some of Kate’s events after an initial meet-and-greet with the swimmer and her coach.
Kate wished to thank Parkin for his invaluable guidance and mentorship for this event as well as Southern ENT for its financial support of her coach.
She wished to thank her club, AquaSharks and Le Sueur for all the extra time and effort spent preparing her to compete at this level.
Kate also wished to thank all the officials at the South African Deaf Sports Federation (SADSF), Western Cape Deaf Sports Federation (WCDSF) and the SA Consulate in Sao Paulo for their support and facilitating her participation.
