The young Callan Lotter would love to spoil older Callan Lotter with a gold medal at the 2025 South African Open Water Swimming Championships held at Marina Martinique, Jeffreys Bay, from 7 to 9 March.

This might sound not very clear, but it's not. When the championship starts tomorrow, the Tuks swimmer will be 18, but on Sunday, when she competes in the 5 km, she will be 19. How special would it be for her if she could win a gold medal on her birthday? It could be her second gold in three days. 

Looking at the results of the previous championships, the further, the better for the first-year BEd student at UP-Tuks. For the past two years, she has been the 10 km champion. Last year, she was second in the 5 km; in 2023, she won the 7.5 km.

When Lotter was younger, she participated in most sports, but the challenges that came with swimming got her adrenaline pumping. In 2018, a friend convinced her to give open-water swimming a go. She immediately qualified to swim the 3 km at the SA Open Water Champs. 

"I quickly realised that open-water swimming comes with its unique challenges. You have to be fit. But it is about more than just that. You also need to be mentally and physically tough to be competitive."

Saving energy is the one thing that is important to Lotter when she competes in open-water swimming competitions.

"For me, it's about swimming as fast as possible without wasting too much energy. If necessary, you must have energy left to sprint towards the end."

Lotter is not the only Tuks swimmer hoping to defend a title. Last year, Henre Louw, a BComm Financial Science student at Tuks, won the men's 10km race. On Saturday, his goal is to see if he can make it two in a row. He is, however, not taking anything for granted. Last year's race turned out to be a humdinger. Louw duelled it out with Ruan Breytenbach up to the last few meters. The two Tuks swimmers were separated by a mere second in the end. 

According to Louw, there is no definitive recipe for winning the 10 km.

"'Every swimmer has their game plan. Experience has taught me not to worry about what the swimmers are doing. Just stick to your plan, but also know that open water races can be unpredictable. This means you have to be focused at all times. If you are not, you will get caught out, which could mean it is race over."

"The best thing that could have happened to me was that I got to participate in a World Championship for the first time. It was the wake-up call I needed. I now realise how important the number of kilometres you swim and your diet is."

Louw was initially a breaststroke swimmer, but he tore his ankle ligaments. This prevented him from swimming breaststroke. He could only swim freestyle. His coach then suggested that he should consider open-water swimming.

"One thing led to another. I started swimming 1500 meters, 3 km, and later 5 km. And then, one day, I weirdly decided to take the 10 km. The rest is history."