Jade from Goshwe to the

When she raked in three gold medals at the Africa Aquatics Zone IV Championships in eSwatini last September, Jade Chilisa knew instantaneously that the path she has been walking since infancy had finally started paying off. She had come into the competition as a debutante, but she walked away all decked in gold, having clinched the medals in the 50m backstroke, 100m breaststroke and the 50m fly. In the course of securing the top spots, Jade also set two new Championship Records (CRs) of 28.62 and 1:10.05 for the 50m backstroke and the 100m breaststroke, respectively.

Jade’s journey of conquering the waters began in an unconventional way. At just nine months of age, her parents decided to introduce her to the waters of a swimming pool as a way of training her for safety purposes. Unbeknown to them, that act of love was a seed that would later sprout and blossom into something truly beautiful-a seed that has since begotten a potential world icon in swimming.

And because an apple does not fall far from the tree, the 12-year-old from Goshwe is following on the footsteps of her father, Will Chilisa, whose achievements she has dwarfed already. Jade’s choice of swimming over other sporting codes came naturally. The early introduction to water and the fact that she spends most of her time in the pool at home solidified her affinity to water.

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Her late grandmother, who saw the swimming potential in her, also triggered ripples in the little girl’s heart by tagging her along to different swimming galas. Jade started participating in swimming competitions at Thornhill Primary School, and later transferred to a school in Pretoria, South Africa where competition is fiercer.

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