Amica de Jager may have done enough in the women's 10km open-water swim race at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics in France.

She finished 27th, one minute and 12 seconds behind the race winner, Sharon van Rouwendal (Netherlands). De Jager was the first swimmer from Africa to finish. The Dutch swimmer's winning time was 1:57.26. The Tuks swimmer’s time was 1:58.38.

De Jager competes in the women's 5-kilometre open-water race and the mixed relay at the 21st edition of the World Aquatics Championships.

She is on tenterhooks to hear whether she has qualified to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.

"I know the first 13 finishers at this World Aquatics Championships will compete in Paris, as will the top three finishers during last year's World Championships in Japan. That leaves five continental spots. One of these is for a swimmer from Africa. So I hope, being the first female swimmer from Africa to finish that, I will get the nod. "In the end, it is Sascoc's decision," De Jager said yesterday.

"I will be OK with whatever is decided. To have been in the mix right up to the end at the World Aquatics Champs was terrific. It was an incredibly tough race, so I had to keep my wits about me. My result proves that hard, long hours in the pool pay off."

It is interesting that Van Rouwendal won the last Midmar Mile women's race in 2023.

De Jager won the 5-kilometer open-water swim at last year's African Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia. 

When asked what motivates her to push her body to its limits, the Tuks student-athlete said, "Nothing worthy in life comes for free or is easily obtained. One must dedicate oneself to the process. Hopefully, the journey and all its obstacles will make the destination priceless. I constantly strive for perfection and have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and self-improvement.

"The road less travelled has always been the road for me. I want to do something extraordinary with my life. It is why I am motivated every time I read Colin Kaepernick's (Nike) quote, 'Don't ask if your dreams are crazy; ask if they are crazy enough'. It is what keeps me pushing the boundaries."

The 18-year-old Callan Lotter (Tuks) finished 22nd in swimming at 2:00.07.

Henre Louw (Tuks) finished 53rd in the men's 10km race. Ruan Breytenbach (Tuks) was 58th. Hungary's Kristof Rusovszky won in 1:48.21.