Twenty one year-old South African swimmer, Brent Szurdoki, is set to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast in April. Despite suffering torn ligaments in his ankle while wakeboarding just three months ahead of his trials, Szurdoki says he wants to beat the odds.
Just five months after his injury Szurdoki is doing everything in his power to make up for lost time in his training. He is even incorporating cross training to help speed up the process.
“Obviously I try tell myself it’s not bad, you can do this, but then going through the whole process and realising my ankle still needs to heal properly because if it doesn’t, it’s going to come bite me in the back. I pushed myself and tried to get out of the cast as fast as possible, and I’m still struggling today… still have to do a bit of the rehab. I’m not back to 100% in terms of my leg strength, so we’re still working on those things now.”
His mother, Lynn Szurdoki believes that it’s his self-confidence and determination that got him where he is today.
“He’s always had a great belief in himself, and I think that’s what made him the kind of swimmer that he is today. He always knew and never ever doubted himself, always had that confidence in himself.”
In 2016, as an up and coming swimmer, Szurdoki competed in the 25 metres FINA World Swimming Championships, and the FINA World Aquatics Championships in 2017. His sister, Logan Herbert, says she is hoping that the Commonwealth Games will be his launch pad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
With only 49 days left until the Commonwealth games begin, the next few weeks will consist of nothing more but intense training for Brent.
