When Joshua Esterhuysen touched the wall to clinch South Africa’s win in the final event of the continental swimming championships some time last Saturday night, the 4 x 100m Medley Relay, the national squad couldn’t contain themselves.
“We jumped over the fence and ran to the pool to help the guys out of the water,” said Port Alfred swimmer Will Beatt.
Watching their team win by a fraction of a second was also Will’s best moment in a week of exciting but exhausting competition at the 16th Africa Aquatics Junior Swimming and Open Water Swimming Championships 2025 in Cairo, Egypt. It took Helgaard Muller, Zaine Niemand, Tai Pearson and Joshua Esterhuysen 3:45:05 to complete the final thriller at the Cairo Stadium Swimming Pool. Egypt, who dominated the men’s competition over the four days from April 30 to May 3, were less than a second behind at 3:45:98.
Three days into the 16th Africa Aquatics Junior Swimming and Open Water Swimming Championships 2025 in Cairo, Egypt, Port Alfred teen Will Beatt had earned two medals: silver in the men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay and bronze for third place in the 200-metre individual medley. By the end of the championships he’d added to that tally silver in the men’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay.
The South African 4 x 100 relay team of Tai Pearson, Will Beatt, Joshua Esterhuysen and Eric Kotze finished in 3:28:39, about two seconds behind winners Egypt (3:26:91). Will’s time for the 200-metre individual medley (4 x 50m) was 2:08:17. First was Namibia’s Oliver Durand (2:04:51) and second Egypt’s Mohamed Ahmed (2:06:19).
The men’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay saw almost exactly the same difference in the finish, with the South Africans’s Tai Pearson touching the wall just over two seconds behind the Egyptians. Swimming third in the 4 x 100 relay was really intense.
“It was incredible to see Joshua [Esterhuysen] maintaining the pace. Seeing my teammate so close to their number 2 really motivated me to the best possible,” said Will who put everything into his third leg of the relay.
Will said he was a little disappointed in his performance, but a fellow swimmer had explained it to him well.
“Usually you’re swimming for yourself or your club: it’s a qualifying time or a training goal you are chasing. But when you’re swimming for your country it’s not about yourself, your time, or a medal: you’re swimming to make South Africa look as good as possible. It’s a whole different kind of pressure.”
The 16th Africa Aquatics Junior Swimming and Open Water Swimming Championships 2025 is hosted by the Egyptian Swimming Federation and takes place at the Cairo Stadium Swimming Pool Complex from April 30 to May 4. Because it’s a junior championship, Will, who recently turned 17, is competing against swimmers older and a little younger than himself (15-18). Will, whose team is PE Aquatics was selected to compete in the 200m and 400m individual medley events, as well as various relays.
Talk of the Town published an article last month explaining that Will needed R40 000 to cover his travel and accommodation costs in Egypt.
“I’m very grateful for the support I got that made it possible for me to go,” said Will.
On Friday night Will and teammates Adrian Van Wyk, Matthew Goller and Tai Pearson were second in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay final. The Egypt team won in 7:37:18; South Africa were about two seconds behind in 7:39:67.
Will made the final of the the 400m individual medley and narrowly missed a podium spot, coming fourth in 4:37:75 – just over three seconds behind fellow South African, 15-year-old Matthew Goller. Namibia’s Oliver Durand won the event in 4:26:00.
Thirty two countries were represented at the continental championships and swimmers from 15 of those were staying at the same hotel as the South Africans.
“It was really nice learning about other cultures,” said Will, who was out of the country for the first time. “We all mingled a lot, especially towards the end of the competition.”
South Africans set several new Africa Aquatics Junior National Records over the four days.
South Africa and Egypt finished as the top two teams at the 16th Africa Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships – South Africa with 25 Gold, 17 Silver and 10 Bronze (Total: 52); Egypt with 10 Gold, 19 Silver and 14 Bronze (Total: 43).
The South African athletes arrived back on South African soil at 7am Monday and Talk of the Town spoke to Will late on Tuesday morning (after he’d had his first sleep-in in weeks!).
It was good to be back, he said after a very long week of travelling and competing. Which was more tiring?
“Definitely the travelling!” said Will, for whom it was his first trip outside South Africa.
Does Will see himself doing more on the international stage?
“That’s the plan,” said Will. “As far as selection goes, that’s out of my hands. My job is to train, to make sure I’m in the running.”
Will’s next big event is the national short course shampionships (date yet to be confirmed) and – hopefully – the Junior world championships in Romania from 19-24 August.
“I’m just off qualifying time for that, but there’s still a possibility.”
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, May 8, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
