Sasha-Lee Nordengen, a 16 year old Grade 11 pupil at Durban Girls’ College, was the first woman home in Saturday’s Freedom Swim from Robben Island to Big Bay.
Photo: The Freedom Swim alongside the dolphins
Sasha-Lee was the youngest competitor at the event and placed third overall, behind two male swimmers.
Twenty five swimmers entered the so-called nude swim, which is the official swim without a wetsuit.
Sasha-Lee swam to raise funds for LIV Village, a non-profit organisation that places orphaned and vulnerable children into a family environment in the hope of raising the next generation of leaders in South Africa.
The Freedom Swim this year celebrated Twenty Years of Democracy. “This year’s event is particularly poignant, as it marks the first swim since the passing of our great leader and steward of the democratic transformation, President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela,” said Sam Barkai, legendary cold water swimmer and the organiser of the Freedom Swim Series.
“The swim, from Robben Island to Big Bay, crosses 7.5km of the frigid Atlantic, making it a stark metaphor for the perilous passage from the darkness and isolation of Apartheid to the shores of democracy,” said Barkai.
For more information visit www.freedomswimseries.co.za.