In 2012, an 8-year-old boy was glued to the television watching Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh win gold for South Africa in the swimming pool at the London 2012 Olympics in England.

The heroics of the two swimmers made a lasting impression on Oliva Lange. He was so inspired that he told his parents that someday he hopes to compete at the Olympic Games as well. Lange admits that at the time, he did not fully understand what he had committed himself to. He, however, is not planning to relent on his dream.

His determination is the reason he swims length after length in the Tuks swimming pool for over three hours most days. He is pushing his body to the limit to become faster and better. According to Lange, many long, hard hours await him in the pool to have a realistic chance to stake his claim to compete at the Olympics.

His dedication is paying off. At the recent South African Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg, he won the 200m breaststroke and bronze in the 50 and 100-metre breaststroke events. He was also a member of the 4x200m individual medley relay team that won gold. At the South African Student Swimming Championships, he won five gold medals.

The UP-Tuks BCom Business Management student asserts that his strength as a swimmer lies in his mental toughness.

"I have realised that when you overcomplicate and overstress your mind, it really affects how you perform. You have to let everything go and focus solely on your race. I believe in staying calm and confident.

"Now, let's talk about swimming itself. I have reached a point where my swimming speed is nearly at its peak. Obviously, there is always something you can improve on."

Doesn't it become boring to swim up and down almost every day?

"After all these years of training, I have gotten into it. It is something I can't stop doing. When I am sick and forced to take a break, I miss the training. It wasn't until my high school years that I realised I was somewhat better at swimming than my peers. So I thought I would offer it a shot. It led me to train harder. I immediately started seeing the results. I genuinely fell in love with swimming. Especially being at galas racing."