Rania

Rania started swimming at age 2 when her mother decided swimming was an essential life skill for her. She never enjoyed her lessons and was known to run around the pool to avoid her swimming coaches. But eventually she overcame her fear and discovered that water was her friend, not her enemy.

This marked the beginning of her love for being in the water and for swimming. By age 6, Rania had started swimming competitively and joined the Walmers Swimming Club in Kensington, where she participated in club galas and regional competitions. When she was 9, she swam her first 200m mixed medley and realised she could swim long distances. Her coaches always entered her into as many races as possible as she had mastered all the swimming styles.

Rania did club swimming throughout primary and part of high school. She stopped swimming competitively at club level when she achieved level 2 in Swimming South Africa’s regional qualifying times for ages 10 to 16 years. In Grade 10, Rania discovered open-water ocean and freshwater swimming and loved it. She found this to be personally challenging while giving her opportunities to socialise and swim with others. Rania shares that open-water swimming appeals to her because it allows her to connect with nature, gives her a sense of freedom and offers her mental and physical relaxation spaces. Although she planned to swim the Freedom Swim as part of a relay team, the pandemic interrupted those plans, and it remains on her bucket list to do as soon as possible. The Freedom Swim is an annual open-water swim in April to celebrate South Africa’s democracy. This swim is 7.5km from Robben Island to Big Bay, Blouberg.

Rania was an active, sporty child who tried all kinds of sports. When she was 7, she said she wanted to do a “land sport” too, so she took up karate alongside swimming, balancing both activities with equal enthusiasm. Rania also holds a black belt in karate and competes internationally. Besides teaching swimming, she teaches karate at Kensington Karate School, where she teaches all ages and levels. The youngest student is 4 years old, and the oldest is a grandmother who comes with her grandchildren.

Rania enjoys working with people regardless of age, but her greatest joy comes from working with children. She says they entertain her and never fail to make her day!