{"id":66795,"date":"2025-03-11T09:27:45","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T07:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=66795"},"modified":"2025-03-11T09:27:45","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T07:27:45","slug":"get-to-know-rising-sa-swimming-star-grace-morris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=66795","title":{"rendered":"Get to know rising SA swimming star Grace Morris"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Grace Morris shone for Rhenish at this year’s 4M Swimming Gala. Photo: Ray Chaplin Sports Media<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

South Africa is recognised for producing top swimmers who compete at the highest levels of the sport.<\/p>\n

In the past decade or so, we’ve seen world-class athletes Tatjana Smith<\/strong> and Chad le Clos<\/strong>, among others, carry the nation’s hopes at various international meets and the Olympic Games<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Smith called time on her illustrious career after the 2024 Olympic Games in France after winning a gold and silver medal for Team SA.<\/p>\n

Le Clos, who famously beat the American legend Michael Phelps<\/strong> in the 200m butterfly final at the London Olympics Games<\/strong> to win gold, has slipped from his best but is still on a mission to revive his career.<\/p>\n

There is no cause for concern, however, that South Africa’s swimming cupboard is bare because top talents, including Chris Smith<\/strong>, Matthew Sates, Pieter Coetze<\/strong>, Jessica Thompson<\/a><\/strong>, and Jarden Eaton<\/strong> have shown that swimming in South Africa is in good shape.<\/p>\n

While Swimming SA<\/a><\/strong> continues to grow its pedigree in the national and international space, the schools’ scene is as healthy as it’s been in a long time.<\/p>\n

One of the swimmers that’s been grabbing the headlines and spotlight of late is 17-year-old Grace Morris<\/a>,<\/strong> from Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape.<\/p>\n

Morris is a Grade 11 pupil at Rhenish Girls’ High School<\/strong> and is one of the most exciting, talented, and promising athletes in the country.<\/p>\n

She is versatile in the pool and participates in a wide range of events, including the 50m and 100m freestyle and backstroke.\u00a0Morris also dabbles in the relay, but her main event is the 200m backstroke<\/strong>, which she’s dominated in recent years.<\/p>\n

She looks at home in the pool and always has a cracking start, thanks to the swimming lessons she was forced to take as a young child.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Ray Chaplin Sports Media<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I started the sport when I was four. My parents took me to a ‘Learn to Swim’ school, and I’m told I hated it,” Morris told SuperSport Schools Plus<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“I started enjoying the sport when I was about eight. At 11, I started training with a club, and that’s really when everything kicked off.<\/p>\n

“I come from a swimming family. My dad was a swimmer before he started playing SA Water Polo, and my mom was also a good swimmer when she was younger.”<\/p>\n

Morris spent most of her youth in Johannesburg before her family relocated to the Western Cape in 2024.<\/p>\n

While in Gauteng, she attended St Peter’s Prep<\/strong> before donning the white and red of St Mary’s Waverley<\/strong> for two years.<\/p>\n

She was already committed to swimming while at St Mary’s, but her move to Rhenish at the age of 16 changed her mindset for the better.<\/p>\n

“I always had an idea of how good of a swimmer I was,” Morris explained. “I\u2019ve always known that swimming is my passion and talent, but I started taking it seriously in 2024 when I got to Stellenbosch.<\/p>\n

“In previous years, I was training but not as consistently as I am now. I’ve upped the training, doing so many sessions. It’s been a massive step up.”<\/p>\n

After only a year in the Western Cape, Morris made her presence felt at the 2024 Western Province Long Course Championships. <\/strong>There, she was in top shape and scooped up a whopping 10 medals<\/strong> (five gold in individual events, four gold in relay events, and one silver).<\/p>\n

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Morris scooped up six medals at the XVI Africa Aquatics Swimming Championships. Photo: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That event, however, came a year after she made her international debut for South Africa at the 15th edition of the African Junior Championships<\/strong> in Mauritius.<\/p>\n

Morris, who was aged 16 at the time, won gold in her favoured 200m backstroke event.<\/p>\n

She also donned the green and gold at the XVI Africa Aquatics Swimming Championships <\/strong>in Angola, from which she returned with six medals.<\/p>\n

“Representing my country at such a young age wasn’t something I was expecting,” she admitted.<\/p>\n

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to make the team or not, and when I got the message, I was so happy. It was a surreal moment because my hard work was starting to pay off.<\/p>\n

“That was also one of the things that made me start working hard and putting extra effort into my swimming.”<\/p>\n

Morris is a member of one of the top swimming clubs in the country, Lane Leader (LL)<\/a><\/strong>, located in Stellenbosch. She’s coached by the experienced Dr Karin Hugo<\/strong> and trains as part of a stacked roster<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“Lane Leader has done so much for me. It’s quite amazing to train with people who have experience and to learn from them.<\/p>\n

“Just to be coached by Karin is an honour. She’s so experienced, and I know for sure that I am in good hands.”<\/p>\n