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SWIMMING NEWS & VIDEO - Robert Hendricks (18) is currently swimming for South Africa at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Netanya, Israel. Robert finished first in his heat (one of nine heats) for 50m butterfly this morning, 7 September, narrowly missing the semi-finals.
“He went in ranked 60th, with a time of 26.39, and swam a massive personal best (PB) and is now ranked 27th in the world among juniors, with a time of 25.23,” said his mom, Charise Hendricks.
Robert’s next race, the 200m butterfly, is on Saturday 9 September. “It is his main race, the one he always performs in,” said Charise.
Robert’s dad, John Hendricks, his younger brother Tyson (13) and family friends will be glued to the television to watch Robert swim. “Although filmed by Supersport, it is not directly available on the channel, and one has to pay to see the specific excerpt. We use the Recast App,” said Charise.
Video: Robert Hendricks won his heat - 50m butterfly this morning. He now ranks 27th in the world among juniors.
Robert joined the rest of the South African swimming team – some 27 swimmers – and will return to George on Sunday 10 September. His flight lands at 18:00. Robert is coached by JP van der Merwe of Royal Swimming Academy in George. The coaches who joined the SA team are from all over the country, including Cape Town, Gqeberha and Gauteng.
“I always tells him he has the heart of a lion,” said Charise. “He is in matric in Glenwood, and really looked forward to the event. His preliminary exams is waiting for him when he returns.”
Robert has Olympic dreams, and would like to continue with his swimming after school. “He is contemplating studying at the University of Pretoria, in sport psychology,” said Charise.
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