St Mary’s Waverley matriculant Zalika Methula will be joining the University of Kentucky’s Swimming and Diving program in the USA next year in a game-changing move towards achieving her dream of representing SA at the Olympics. Photo: Domazer Photography

South Africa’s young diving sensation Zalika Methula is heading to the United States after signing with the University of Kentucky Swimming and Diving program. Methula will be donning the blue and white of the renowned institution in Lexington, USA. 

The St Mary’s Waverley matriculant says this has been her dream since the age of 14. Last year, she took a trip to Lexington to experience the University first hand and as they say, the rest is history

“I always had my eyes set on studying in the USA and continue my athletic career. I had many coaches reach out to me offering me a place at their university. Out of the coaches that reached out, three stood out to me the most, one of them being the University of Kentucky. 

“After officially visiting the Kentucky campus last October I knew that I wanted to spend my next four years there. The campus, the people, the diversity and especially my future teammates and coach are of the main reasons I committed to Kentucky.”

SA International Diver, Scholar Athlete Zalika Methula

The Most Promising Athlete of the Year at the Gauteng Sport Awards last year says going abroad will be a game changer for her fledgling career in diving.

“Studying in the States will enable me to train consistently and at the highest level. I believe that training in the States will take me to the highest level possible in terms of performance.”

True to form, covering women in sport in South Africa in all sporting codes, from high performing athletes to future stars, the gsport Newsroom is always setting the pace and unearthing stories that haven’t been told in mainstream media.

Methula was first profiled on the gsport website in 2022, alongside Keratile Manaka, when they were both preparing for the FINA World Junior Diving Championships as South Africa’s first divers of colour to represent the nation on this stage. 

Fast forward to today, a little older and with so much more experienced gained, Methula takes the bold step of leaving home to chase her dreams. Since the Diving Champs, she’s been participating in a few competitions and honing her craft. 

“I’ve been working really hard on improving areas of technique that needed work as well as my confidence throughout training and competing.”

In July 2023, she took to the big stage once more representing SA at the 20th World Aquatics Championships in July also while juggling Grade 11 exams. 

“I competed in the synchronised event alongside Bailey Heydra. I think we can both agree that that was not the performance we hoped to display to the world, but lots of lessons learnt.”

“Quite a few local competitions which overall went well. I did about three overseas competitions which I wasn’t really satisfied with, but I constantly remind myself that it’s a part of the process. This definitely tests my patience and can sometimes affect my motivation.”

Diving as a sport doesn’t receive as much media coverage compared to mainstream sports like soccer or rugby. Women’s participation in diving, particularly outside of events like the Olympics, have even less exposure, making it harder to attract sponsors.

Sponsors look for broad audience appeal or a highly engaged niche market. While diving has a passionate community, it doesn’t have the mass-market appeal that larger sports offer. For women in diving, this can be further narrowed, as brands may see limited crossover into larger demographics.

Methula speaks on the challenges of securing financial backing: “Being in a niche sport has definitely brought its challenges regarding finances.”

“Receiving sponsorships would honestly be a game changer because we have to fund our own trips to local and international competitions which adds more stress to the divers and their parents. I hope that over the years diving will continue to grow and demonstrate its value of bringing sponsors.”

A top student and an equally amazing athlete, Methula is considering Neuroscience as a field of study. As she nears the end of High School and matric she says the journey to being a star athlete and brilliant scholar hasn’t been easy.

“This year has been really challenging especially having to balance diving and academics. Sometimes it’s hard to know here your focus should be at that time but overtime it will become much easier.”

Her biggest dream is to be part of Team South Africa at the Olympics and she also encourages young girls to chase their dreams and everything will fake into place.

“No matter how impossible your dream might be, if you believe that one day it can come to pass then your determination will drive you to take the necessary steps to achieving your dream.”


Main Photo caption: St Mary’s Waverley matriculant Zalika Methula will be joining the University of Kentucky’s Swimming and Diving program in the USA next year in a game-changing move towards achieving her dream of representing SA at the Olympics. Photo: Domazer Photography

Photo 2 caption: Alongside Keratile Manaka, Methula was the first the diver of colour to represent South Africa at the FINA World Junior Diving Champs. Photo: Supplied

Photo 3 caption: A top student and an equally succesful scholar athlete, Methula is considering Neuroscience as a field of study. Photo: Supplied

Please Rate this Post

0 ratings, 0 votes0 ratings, 0 votes (0 rating, 0 votes, rated)
You need to be a registered member to rate this.
Loading...

New Report

Close