The High Performance Centre (hpc) swimmer, Karin Prinsloo, suffers from a lower back injury and back spasms that might prevent her from being at her best at the South African Swimming Championships in Durban (13-19 April).
But this it is not the only dilemma Prinsloo has to face at the moment. She also has to decide when the best time will be to have her tonsils removed. After the problems she experienced at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she does not want to be troubled by tonsils again during a major championship.
Prinsloo’s injury woes started about two weeks ago in the build-up to the Grand Prix Meeting in Stellenbosch.
“In spite of the fact that my lower back was killing me I kept on training. I competed in Stellenbosch but had to withdraw before the finals because the pain became unbearable.
“At first I thought I might be suffering from kidney stones but blood tests proved that it was not the case. After further tests, which included a scan, the doctor told me that I suffered from Scoliosis of the lower back and that this might be contributing to the back spasms.
“At times the pain was so bad that I could barely sit down, but thanks to the magic hands of hpc’s physiotherapists I am beginning to feel much better. I am still battling to do proper turns in the swimming pool.
“I don’t think I will be at my best at the South African Championships but I am confident that I will be able to swim the qualifying times for the World Championships. However, I will have to give careful consideration to in which events I will compete, because I don’t think I will be able to take part in as many as I did in the past.
“I think I will compete only in the 400-freestyle, 200-freestyle and 200-backstroke because I have already managed to swim the A-qualifying times in those events. I will probably have my tonsils removed after the national championships, which should give me enough time to recuperate.”
Igor Omeltchenko, head coach at Tuks, will be happy if Prinsloo competes in fewer events.
“Karin could easily qualify to compete in five events at the World Championships but she will certainly perform better if she competes in only three events.”
Photo 1 caption: Severe backache expected to impact SA Swim Champs times for Karin Prinsloo, but the hpc swimmer is confident of swimming A-qualifying times for events she has already qualified in. Photo: Reg Caldecott
(With editing by gsport)
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