“Cleaning house!” laughs Cornelle Leach with a sigh. Her tongue is firmly in her cheek and barely a word she utters is true. Because that is definitely not all the 23-year-old has kept herself busy with since she received her honours degree in Tourism Management at the North-West University (NWU) on 1 April. On the contrary, she was BUSY.
In addition to working on her master’s degree – which she is trying to complete before the end of the year – she also qualified for the World Para Swimming Championships and the Para Commonwealth Games in the S12 category for athletes with sight impairments. And then Covid-19 also got in a sideswipe. Her doctor warned her that she would be unable to train for a month, which would leave her with a week’s preparation for the World Swimming Championships. Fortunately, she is back in the water and is swimming a total of 32 km in six training sessions every week.
Hah! Just cleaning house?
“It is rough,” she confesses playfully. “My coach is pressing me into the red. I want to break a record. Actually, not just one. I would like to improve the Africa records in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle and also the 100 m breaststroke.”
Objectives: medals and records. But she first has to get to Madeira, Portugal. At the time of the interview there was no clarity yet about some team members and their visas.
“I have big plans and dreams, but things are quite stressful at the moment. However, I am looking forward to it immensely. I have not travelled for two years and I have never been to Portugal (the Para Commonwealth Games take place in London later this year). My focus is furthermore on staying fit and continuing to improve my times. I want to be the first choice in my category for the Paralympics in 2024. I also have a wonderful new sponsor, Arena South Africa. They help me incredibly and support me one hundred per cent,” she says.
Those who follow her story will naturally want to know what has happened to her trusty Labrador guide dog, Vogue, who graduated with her earlier this year.
“She will go on a visit to her brothers and sisters with the lady who raised her. Unfortunately all the quarantine rules just make it too difficult to take her with. She is going on holiday and mommy is going away to work,” she jokes. “However, there are numerous assistants to help us and I have my white walking stick!”
With an attitude like this and her characteristic decisiveness those three Africa records are definitely in big danger.
