One thing that will be guaranteed when Jenna Tarr competes at the 2024 Lifesaving World Championships in Gold Coast, Australia is that grains of sand will fly in the air.

The Tuks Veterinary student specialises in Beach Flag and sprints on loose sand. At the 2022 World Champs in Italy, she won a silver medal in the Youth Sprints and Team Relay events. This year, at the Africa Champs, she added gold to her medal collection in the Open Mix Relay. She is also the national champion in her favourite two events. 

According to Tarr, the challenge in sprint racing is to finish on your feet.

"As in athletics, each runner is allotted a lane. We race over 90 metres, but it is not about time. You must finish in the top four to progress to the next round, as each heat is eliminated. We keep going until there are only eight athletes left. Then we race the final. The finish is judged on the competitor's chest crossing the finish line. You must be fit, as the soft sand makes for tough running."

"Beach flags are used by lifesavers to improve their sprinting and reflexes. During a competition, the flags are stuck in the sand. The athletes lie facing away and face down approximately 20 metres away. Upon a starting signal, the competitors race to the flags and try to grab one. The difficulty in the sport is that there are always fewer flags than there are competitors. In every sprint, the athlete who does not manage to secure a flag is eliminated. So, it goes on until one athlete remains. That is the winner.

"With flags, anything can happen. You can have the most experienced person being knocked out first. So you never know what will happen. It all depends on who you line up against," the Tuks student explained.

Tarr is realistic as to the challenges she will face during Worlds.

"Coming from a junior level to jump up to a very experienced senior line-up will be pretty challenging. Ideally, I'd like to get as many points as possible for our team. But the goal every time I compete is to medal. We got a realistic chance to win a medal in the team competition."

Lifesaving is not only a sport to Tarr; growing up in East London, she regularly worked out as a lifeguard on the beaches. She once got the experience of what it takes to save a person from drowning.

"One time, a swimmer got pulled quite far out into the open sea. When I saw her panic, I swam out first with a torpedo buoy to get to her. Two other lifeguards came out on rescue boats. We got her back in eventually. While it happened, my mind just went on autopilot. After the rescue, I thought it was quite a scary experience. Still, to help save someone's life is quite a feeling. It is not something that many people get to experience."