By GARY LEMKE in Swakopmund
You heard him before you saw him. To the untuned ear it might have been hip hop, or what it rap? No matter. When Tumelo Mahan arrived with Team SA at The Dome indoor pool for Thursday afternoon training, the beat was on.
Mahan is at the Region 5 Games to put on a show. Now part of Rocco Meiring group of swimmers at the University of Pretoria, which is a breeding ground of champions and which has helped Meiring’s status to one of the best coaches in the world – anyone say the best by any chance? – the teenager means business.
At 18, he’s the younger brother of Owethu (20), and both have been making waves through the swimming ranks.
Tumelo is not having his first rodeo on the international stage, but is a leader in and out of the water. He’s the one holding the speaker announcing Team SA’s arrival at training, 18 teenage swimmers looking to entrench themselves as a powerhouse in the region.
“Coach Rocco gave me my instructions for this competition,” Mahan shared. “They were basically, medals, medals, medals.” Given the pool is 25m in length and won’t have electronic touchpads, official times won’t constitute Games records, but there are sure to be several occasions when swimmers post unofficial bests.
“We can swim for times whenever we want, but here it’s all about medals. I’m hoping to add a couple more to my collection, I don’t have an official count of how many I’ve got, but I reckon that I have overtaken my brother.
“We both started swimming at the same time, but because I’m two years younger I racked up more medals in the juniors. Pride of place of all of them though are from the African Games (March 2024). They look cool, came in the biggest competition I’ve been involved in and I won gold. Even if they were in the relay, it doesn’t matter. They have a special place in my room.
Mahan was still at Pretoria Boys High when he competed internationally for the first time. “It was in 2023 at the World Juniors in Israel. I was very nervous, but excited.”
The Africa Games followed a few months later and now it’s back on Team SA duty, this time as one of the more experienced swimmers. Which means he now can be the one carrying the message to the newbies.
“Just like I learned from the older swimmers. Don’t put pressure on yourself and think of the finals and medals. A happy swimmer is a fast swimmer. Being selected to represent your country is acknowledgement that you’ve achieved. The moment is not going to last forever, so embrace it and enjoy it.”
The Mahan brothers are studying towards B Comm degrees in Tuks’ Faculty of Management and Economic Sciences. Which means that in a few years time he will be making his way in the big world of business. “I hope that I’ll be Tumelo Mahan, professional swimmer, marketing manager and social media influencer. I know that swimming will be on the list though!”
That answers the question before it comes his way – what does the short-term future hold? “I have a plan laid out for 2028 and 2032, the next two Olympics’. Swimming is what I want to do. I want to get my degree but be a professional swimmer. Every training session that I have I know that I’m taking a step in the right direction. That’s what I want to do. All my energy is focused on swimming and no other sport.”
While we’re talking and other Team SA swimmers are going through their paces in the water, he cuts a comfortable, confident figure. Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile that he’s still just 18 because there’s a maturity to how he interacts. And even the music attests to the depth.
“I love music but I’m a people pleaser,” he says of the speaker that he was carrying around a little while earlier. “What music I listen to depends on the day, how important the race is and factors like that. I really do enjoy hip hop, house music and before a race it can be rap, hip hop or rock … I really like rock … Nirvana. I can easily go back to the 90s and 80s, there was great music back then.
Given Mahan was born into Gen Z in November 2006, it says a lot that he is still appreciative of the music of the 80s and 90s. Perhaps next time we should introduce him to the tunes of the 70s, like Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” from 1977. Songs that he will easily identify with as he looks beyond the Region 5 Games and to the bigger stages.
Photo: ROGER SEDRES
