KZN's Olympic team of 19 hopefuls

REUTERS

Chad Guy Bertrand Le Clos, the swimming star from KZN who represents one of South Africa's best Olympic medal hopes in London.

We have the weather, we have the beach, and now we have 19 Olympic athletes to add to KwaZulu-Natal’s list of positives.

Cyclists, swimmers, canoeists, runners, hockey and soccer players will not only be representing our country at the London games, but the province, too.

KZN has a proud history of producing world-class athletes, with our most notable provincial product in recent years being double-gold medallist Penny Heyns.

The breaststroke star took two firsts at the 1996 games in Atlanta. Not only did she win the 100m and 200m events, she broke a world record and Olympic record in doing so, setting the standard for all KwaZulu-Natalians who are to compete in what is arguably the greatest sporting competition.

Unfortunately, no athlete has yet matched that performance, with the country claiming its last gold medal in the 4 x 400m men’s freestyle team relay in Athens in 2004.

Two members of Team SA who will be looking to break this gold medal drought are locals Burry Stander and Chad le Clos.

Tanith Maxwell (marathon) and Lenise Marais (womens hockey) are among the KwaZulu-Natal athletes who will soon be packing their bags for the 2012 Olympic Games.

INLSA

Stander will be competing on a mountain bike track and Le Clos in the pool, and they are among the province – and the country’s – strongest medal contenders.

Stander, who hails from the South Coast, is ranked eighth in the world in his discipline and recently took first place in a leg of the UCI Mountainbike World Cup, held in Windham, New York.

The 24-year-old from Port Shepstone has been blazing a trail since his introduction to the international cycling scene and is being punted as a top-three finisher for London.

Le Clos, who will be swimming in the 200m and 400m individual medleys, the 200m freestyle and 200m butterfly, was initially seen as a prospect for the Brazil 2016 games, but has developed significantly in recent years to pose a threat four years early.

The 20-year-old former Westville Boys’ High School pupil has won gold at the world championships, the Commonwealth Games and the All-Africa Games and there is a definite feeling that he will perform well in London.

Besides Le Clos, KZN will be supplying another five swimmers in Charl Crous, Katheryn Meaklim, Leith Shankland, Riaan Schoeman and Suzaan van Biljon.

It is not only in the water that the province has performed well, but on it as well – with canoeists Bridgitte Hartley and Tiffany Kruger having both been selected for our Olympic squad.

The two paddlers, Hartley from Richards Bay and Kruger from Amanzimtoti, will be racing in the K1 200m and the K1 500m respectively in London.

Hartley has been in particularly good form of late and in last month’s World Cup in Poland she finished fifth in her event.

Other athletes from the province who have been selected so far for the games are men’s hockey players Lloyd Madsen, Marvin Harper, Taine Paton, Timothy Drummond and Wade Paton.

The men’s team are on tour in preparation for London and have just finished competing in the Celtic Cup against Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Beside the men and women in the limelight, crucial coaching and medical staff also hail from the province, with swimming coach Graham Hill and boxing coach Nkosinathi Hlatshwayo travelling with the team, as well as Kevin Subban, the chief medical officer.

The final squad announcement by Sascoc will take place on Wednesday, with the remainder of the Olympic team being named.

The announcement will also mark 23 days to go until the Games get under way, giving our athletes just over two weeks until they leave for London.

Team SA’s plane is scheduled to leave on July 19 after the entire squad has gathered for the pre-departure camp.

Other KZN athletes include Candice Neethling (cycling); Tanith Maxwell (marathon); Lenise Marais (women’s hockey); Zamandosi Cele and Amanda Dlamini (women’s football).