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Parkrand open water swimmer Portia Mokoena achieved her ‘great escape’ when she completed the Robben Island Crossing on March 7.
“When I was awarded the ambassadorship, I told myself I couldn’t back down because it was for a good cause I strongly supported and also supported by my foundation,” she said.Mokoena, an experienced open water swimmer, struggled to find suitable training facilities to thoroughly prepare for the crossing initially.
Mokoena’s training also involved pool swimming for strength and bathing in cold water and ice baths, which were helpful in acclimatising to the cold temperature in the Atlantic Ocean. She added she was also motivated by the history Robben Island as a prison for freedom fighters because she wondered if there were any escapees who made it successfully to shore, hence she called the crossing her great escape.Through her foundation, Swima le Portia, she gives nursery school children from Reiger Park, Windmill Park and Wattville free swimming and water safety lessons to create a love for aquatics in the townships.
Asked if she would attempt the False Bay Crossing, she said, “No more crossings for me. My job now is to recruit swimmers of colour to do the crossing”.• She was born and bred in Vosloorus and attended St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls until Grade 10. She then went to New Horizon College in Harrismith.
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