Freeman makes huge swimming plunge
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday July 28, 2017 14:47
The bronze medallist was born in Gaborone in 2001 and when he was three years old, he jumped into the pool for the first time. Freeman says he has always had a dream of going to the Olympics and that dream is not far off. He says things will come into place if he continues with the hard work.
Reality sunk in at the sixth annual Commonwealth Youth Games held in The Bahamas from July 18-23 where he won a bronze medal in the men’s 1,500m freestyle.
The bronze medal was the first in the history of Botswana for both juniors and seniors. Finishing in the third position behind New Zealand and Australia, Freeman attained a personal best and qualified for the Youth Olympic Games in the 400m freestyle. The swimmer has also been selected for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games team.
“Being a Commonwealth Youth Games bronze medallist means a lot to me. I did not expect this, but it was also not a surprise. I went there with the goal of giving it my best. It was one of the best performances of my life. It shows training hard is paying,” he says. He states the result is the beginning of bigger things to come. He says his main focus is to start working towards the 2018 Youth Olympics. Freeman is based at the High Performance Centre High School in Pretoria, training with Tuks Swimming Club, under the watchful eye of coach Rocco Meiring. When in Gaborone, he trains under Darrell Morton’s School of Swimming (DMSS).
“The High Performance Centre gives me a good balance between swimming and academics,” he says.
He tells Mmegi Sport that there is a lot of swimming talent in Botswana. He says it is a long route, which needs handwork and patience. Freeman is hopeful that his success and that of Naomi Ruele, David van deer Colff and Adrian Robinson can inspire people to work hard and swimming can become big in Botswana.
“We put a lot of hard work in swimming. It is one of the sports where results are directly related to hard work. Talent is a small factor and hard work is everything,” he says.
Freeman grew up in Palapye and attended school at Kgaswe Primary School.
He showed good potential at school and district level, getting selected to swim for Northern Botswana School team where he won gold medals in multiple events.
He was the top swimmer in his age group in this competition throughout his primary school career.
He has done well at continental level winning multiple medals and breaking records at the African Swimming Confederation (CANA) championships. He also won a silver medal in the 100m freestyle at the African Junior Championships in Egypt in 2015. Currently at the HPC, he trains for four hours a day during which he swims approximately 10 kilometres per day, putting in a total of 10 sessions a week as well as two gym sessions.
FACT FILE
Full names: James Freeman
Date of birth: March 28, 2001
Place of birth: Gaborone
Sport: Swimming
Role model: Michael Phelps
Food: Steak and burgers