When SASCOC President Gideon Sam wanted to gee up Team South Africa for the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo he knew exactly who to turn to: One of the stalwarts of SA swimming down the years.

That woman was Mandy Loots, and Sam told the assembled team at the dusty Games Village to look to Loots for any inspiration. Mandy, you and I have been through a lot down the years in swimming so I’m looking at you to set the tone, she smiled.

Just over a year down the line and three-time Olympian Loots has now come to the end of the line as far as competitive swimming is concerned and December’s World Short-Course Championships in Istanbul, Turkey were her last international event and she’s now officially retired from a lengthy career. In local waters she was as competitive as ever, taking three gold medals at the 2012 SA Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg.

Road to Rio 2016 Managing Editor Mark Etheridge asked the 34-year-old to put her feet up and look back over those powerful butterfly-honed shoulders at a career that brought her such pride and joy.

Tell us about the early years? “I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe then moved to South Africa in 1983. We settled in Edenvale and I’m still in the same house to this day.”

Give us a quick breakdown on those early years, when you first started swimming competitively and what was the first major race you won? “I started swimming training with Dean [Price] and his mom Janet from the age of eight. I finished a close second to a girl who trained at my school gala. Her mom introduced me to Dean. Once I started training Dean got me involved in galas. The first major race I won was winning the 400m IM from lane eight at Transvaal champs (now CGA champs).”

How many SA swim championships have you been to now, if you can remember them all (there are so many) and which one(s) stand out? And what about the international events? “I’ve competed at 21 national champs the most of any SA swimmer. Ryk Neethling was on 17. I think the one that stands out the most to me was the 1996 Olympic trials. I had to win the 100m butterfly to make the team for the 4x100m IM relay. It was a very close race with Renate du Plessis. Winning that put me on the relay team with Marianne Kriel (backstroke), Penny Heyns (breaststroke) and Helene Muller (freestyle). I’ve also been to three Olympic Games, three Commonwealth Games, three World Champs and four All Africa Games.”

Of the Olympic Games, which were your favourite (and for what reason) and your least favourite Olympic Games if there was such a thing? “It’s very difficult to say which Olympic Games was better. Each one is special in it’s own way of bringing the spirit of the host country alive and showcasing the true story of the host country. Atlanta will always be special though because it was my first one. Walking into the stadium for the opening ceremony will be a memory I’ll always carry in my heart. Then watching my teammates Penny and Marianne winning medals and then coming an agonizing fourth place in the relay.”

When did you decide to call it quits on your career and was there any particular reason? “Unfortunately my body is struggling to keep up with my competitive mind so it was becoming very frustrating to not achieve the times my mind believed I could. I’m a very dedicated person so while I was competing I had no room for anything else. I was finally ready to put my swimming on the backseat and open doors to new things. To be honest, selectors were making age a huge issue and I was getting tired of fighting for any selections.” Who (parents, coaches, team-mates) has had the most influence on your career and in what way? My parents have always been a huge support system in my swimming career. From driving me to training before I could drive, to attending most of my swimming galas. Whatever was needed to help me achieve my goals… they would do it for me. They have made great sacrifices to help me in whatever was needed, to get me to training, or local and national competitions and to compete in international competitions. Without them I would never have been able to live my dream!”

Over the years who has been your favourite swimmer (SA and international) and for what reason? “Internationally my favourite swimmer is Therese Alshammar from Sweden because not only is she a butterfly swimmer like me but she is a year older than me and I have just enjoyed following her career. Nationally it’s much harder to pick because they’re all my friends. It is always great to be on a team, supporting your teammates when they win medals and singing the national anthem while they are on the podium.” Now that you won’t be part of it any more, how would you put the state of SA swimming now? Is it healthy, are there future stars coming through and in your experience, who are the names to look out for that we may not have heard of yet? “Unfortunately the state of swimming in SA is not in good form. Swimming SA needs to get a big sponsor to help get young swimmers out to compete in international competitions so that they get the experience and belief that they can compete with the rest of the world. I think we have the young talent out there, it just needs to be nurtured into the champions.”

Apart from swimming what do you do for a living and what are you going to be getting up to now that you aren’t training as much? “I teach little ones swimming. I love passing on my knowledge of the sport I love to the little kids. It’s my goal to start up my own swimming school.”

And the funniest moment you ever experienced (yourself or someone else) in your swimming career? “I can’t think of one particular funny moment but it’s just great to remember the laughs I’ve shared with my friends, teammates and roommates through the years. It was always fun trying to come up with a prank to play on some of the guys. Myself, Melissa Corfe, Kathryn Meaklim and Chanelle van Wyk were called the Fab4 because we always hung out together on trips and I remember that once we put a huge pot plant in Cameron’s Van der Burgh's room while he was out.”

So, while the women known in local swimming circles as Madame Butterfly may well have hung up her wings, with her desire to put back into the sport the pools of experience she has gained over the years, means that Swimming South Africa could do worse than draw on her experience to gee up the next generation of stars.

Olympic swimmer settles in uMhlanga

SA Olympic swimmer Mandy Loots has taken up a coaching post at the Crawford College La Lucia in January and has been working closely with the Seals Swimming Club.

Mandy Loots is pictured alongside Emily Visagie (16), Tayla Lovemore (18) (middle) and Courtney Perrett (17) (left) , who made the finals at the recent South African Swimming Championships in Durban. Visagie won gold medals in the girls 16 years SA Champs in Cape Town in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and was second in the 200m breaststroke.

May 2, 2014

OLYMPIC swimmer Mandy Loots has added a new dimension to the coaching scenes in the Durban area this year. The versatile swimmer has decided to settle in the uMhlanga area just a year after retiring from the sport at 34 years of age in December 2012. Mandy has had a long serving career for South Africa, having represented the country at the 1996, 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games, a record in itself alongside the three Olympics achieved by Penny Heyns in 1992, 1996 and 2000.

Having trained and competed in the Johannesburg area, Mandy took up a coaching post at the Crawford College La Lucia in January and has been working closely with the Seals Swimming Club under coaching director and aQuelle Midmar Mile race director, Wayne Riddin.

“After Mandy retired, I invited her to enter her first Midmar Mile last year. She took it further than that and completed the 8 Miles for charity for Pink Drive. Her arrival in the Durban North area is a huge boost for our club as well as Durban and KwaZulu-Natal,” said Riddin.

“I have involved Mandy with our competitive swimmers despite her wanting to concentrate on learn-to-swim. Her knowledge and experience at the competitive levels is too valuable not to mention her enthusiasm. The reaction from the swimmers has been amazing and our results at the Level 3 championships in Cape Town and Senior Nationals in Durban recently were at a high with the support of Mandy.”

Mandy was the most decorated South African athlete at the 1999 All Africa Games in Johannesburg with six gold medals. She has also competed at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2006, the African Swimming Championships in 2008 and 2010 as well as the World Short Course Championships and World Cups.