#TuksSwimming: Stephanie Houtman loves the challenge of long-distance swimming

Posted on February 21, 2022

There is a long-standing joke every diehard marathoner must have heard at least once, and that is why run when you can drive. 

In the same vein, the joke to open-water swimmers should be why swim when there are boats. The 19-year old, Stephanie Houtman of TuksSwimming, is the women's title winner of the 2022 Midmar Mile and will never board a boat. Definitely not when she races. The Tuks swimmer prefers to do her own thing, stroke for stroke, kick for kick. Even with the risk of being "mauled" in the water. 

She lives for that sense of achievement one gets when pushing one's body to the limit. Especially when she had to dig deep to finish what she started.

"Long distances swimming do take its toll. There were times I came close to crying. Not many might know, but open-water swimming is a contact sport. During any big event, it is guaranteed that you will be kicked, punched or dragged under at least once, especially over the first few 100 metres. During the Midmar, it was only after 400 metres that I could start to swim my own race."

Houtman admits that she did not expect to win the Midmar Mile. She actually did not plan on racing at Midmar Mile. It was sort of a last-minute decision. 

"The goal was at first to have fun while pushing myself as hard as I could to see what happens. I was shocked when I won. It almost felt unreal," Houtman said. 

Her Tuks training partner, Samantha Randle, was second. 

The last time, Houtman competed in the Midmar Mile was in 2019. She then finished 11th in the women's elite race. 

Her next big challenge is going to the 2022 South African Open Water Championships in Jeffreys Bay in March. In 2021, she was second in the women’s 10km race. To Houtman, it is her best performance, so far in open-water swimming. Her heroics meant she had an opportunity to try and qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

She would love to have the opportunity to compete at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, especially since the FINA World Championship has been postponed until next year. But at the moment, it is not clear whether or not there will be an open-water swimming event at the Games. 

It does not mean that she is without challenges. The Tuks swimmer is no slouch in the swimming pool. During last year's South African Short Course Championship, she won the 1500m freestyle and was second over 800 metres. She plans to compete in both events during April's national long course championship (50 metres).

Gary Albertyn (Tuks/HPC) was impressive during the Midmar Mile. He won the men's 51-60 race in 21 minutes and 11 seconds. His time is faster than the swimmers in the 31-40 years and 41-50 age groups. What was amazing was that Albertyn completed the 16-mile charity challenge the day before. The Tuks swimmer has so far clocked 142 miles in charity swims during the Midmar Mile event. 

- Author Wilhelm De Swardt

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