SWIMMING NEWS - Tanya Osborne made George and South Africa proud at the Lifesaving World Championships 2022 that recently took place in Riccione, Italy.
She participated in the Masters 45 to 49 age group and won five medals: surf swim race (gold), board rescue race (silver), pool 200m obstacle swim (bronze), Taplin relay surf (bronze) and surf swim relay (bronze).
"It felt amazing to get to Worlds, as the event was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid," she told George Herald.
"Lifesaving world champs occurs every two years, the next being on the Gold Coast in Australia. The exposure to international teams was amazing and I learnt so much about myself, my sport and how to prepare for Worlds 2024."
According to her, lifesaving combines an amazing all-round sport with community service through voluntary beach duties. "It covers running - 2km beach races, beach sprints or competing 'flags' on the beach, swimming in both pool and sea, and mastering the racing of Malibu boards and surfskis as well as combining the run, swim, Malibu board, and surfski in the ocean men's/women's race," she says.
"Masters racing starts with the 30 to 34 age group and the oldest competitors at Worlds were in the 75+ age group."
She intends participating again in the World Championships in 2024, but in a new age group. She is looking for a sponsor for equipment that is more competitive than her 30-year-old Malibu board.
Tanya maintains her all-round fitness focusing primarily on swimming and belongs to the Garden Route's biggest masters swimming club, the Fish Eagles Masters.
The medals that Osborne won.
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
