Jessica Thompson and Marony Jacobs caught deserved attention when 2025 started with a bang for swimmers in Mzansi, with the fastest talent in the sport catching the eye of selectors at Swimming SA’s Grand Prix in Mbombela from 10 to 11 January, 2025.
Marony Jacobs was one of the top performers at the event, and her form so early in the year bodes well with the Junior African Championships later in 2025, while 15-year-old Miela Banza is also cementing her status in the pool, shining in the 100m and 200m breaststroke.
Swimming South Africa’s High Performance Manager, Dean Price says he was impressed by what he saw from the women swimmers over the weekend.
“In the junior girls, Gemma Spies from Gqeberha dominated in the Freestyle events, and Individual Medley results as well. In the Butterfly, Sophie Barrow took that race in a speedy time, and stood out in that discipline.
“In the senior races, Marony Jacobs – also from Infinity Club, who has also swam World Open Water Champs before, so she is a season swimmer. She took all the freestyle events, so she stood out, it was very competitive and really tough.”
“We also had Jess Thompson, who has just come back from a short course, she won all the sprint events with strong and solid swims. In the breaststroke events, Miela Banza from Mbombela really looked on form, and had some fantastic swims.”
The performances from the women in the pool saw records being broken, and Price says this bodes well for the next four-year cycle.
“In the junior events, Sophie Barrow in the butterfly, and Jenna Spies in the 100m Freestyle were the fastest times we have seen at the Mbombela Grand Prix. It’s a big year for us and we are going to select swimmers for the Junior Africa Championships – The cut-off date will be the end of February for selection.”
Swimming South Africa’s High Performance Manager, Dean Price
“The event itself will be held in Cairo at the end of April, so what we are trying to do is to get the next group of girls coming forward for that competition,” said Price. “Then the main event will be the World Junior Championships in Romania, in August, and that’s a tough one as it’s the beginning of the next four-year cycle, heading up to the LA Olympics.”
“We are going to see who the new kids on the block are and that will be selected from SA Nationals, so we are looking to see who can stand up and fill the shoes over the next four to eight years of Tatjana (Smith) and people like that.”
“So, it will be quite exciting to see who the next kids who are coming up, and who can swim fast, we will get an idea in the Grand Prix in February in GQ, because that is the last chance to get their time for Africa (Champs) and the Senior Nationals in GQ, where the people will qualify for World Junior Champs.”
Price says with the likes of Banza showcasing her talents in the pool along with other women swimmers, he has no doubt that they will be star sportswomen in the near future.
“From what we have, we have got a few kids Miela Banza and a few others, some younger ones coming up that I think can make a big mark in the future for women’s sport. I think the next generation now is going to be sort of like 13, 14, 15 years of age and I think over the few years those are the ones we are going see coming through.”
Women’s Results at the Swimming South Africa Grand Prix in Mbombela, on Friday, 10 January 2025
400m Individual Medley
Loghan Gray (17) 5:26.41
Robyn Barbour (16) 5:42.12
200M Butterfly
1. Marony Jacobs (16) 2:28.38
2. Zandri Knoetze (15) 2:41.69
3. Indigo Woodburn (14) 2:58.87
4. Kendra Beukes (16) 2:59.31
13 and Under 100m LC Meter Butterfly
1. Sophie Barrow (13) 1:09.28
2. Gemma Spies (13) 1:09.93
3. Layla Barber-Luna (12) 1:20.10
100m LC Backstroke Multi-Class
1. Londiwe Khumalo (13) 2:31.07
400m LC Freestyle
1. Marony Jacobs (16) 4:34.42
2. Sienna Gous (14) 4:39.02
3. Scarlett Le Roux (16) 4:39.13
200m LC Breaststroke
1. Miela Banza (15) 2:42.13
2. Cassandra Sikiotis (17) 2:44.82
3. Zuria Venter (14) 2:51.68
50m LC Breaststroke
1. Layla Cronin (14) 46.26
2. Tatenda Chamboko (17) 48.11
3. Kiara Wilson (17) 55.60
200m LC Freestyle
1. Marony Jacobs (16) 2:10.16
2. Scarlet Le Roux (16) 2:11.25
3. Sienna Gous (14) 2:13.47
Women’s Results on Saturday, 11 January, 2025
50m Freestyle
1. Jessica Thompson (17) 26.66
2. Julia Landmann (17) 27.77
3. Caelyn White (17) 28.63
13 and Under 100m Freestyle
1. Gemma Spies (13) 1:00.87
2. Morgan Tandy (13) 1:05.44
3. Kaylee Watt (12) 1:05.79
100m Breaststroke
1. Miela Banza (15) 1:15.13
2. Cassandra Sikiotis (17) 1:17.85
3. Zuria Venter (14) 1:21.87
200m Individual Medley
1. Jessica Thompson (17) 2:30.14
2. Scarlett Le Roux (16) 2:30.50
3. Zuria Venter (14) 2:36.86
13 and Under 100m Backstroke
1. Gemma Spies (13) 1:11.10
2. Morgan Tandy (13) 1:14.05
3. Layla Barber-Luna (12) 1:17.83
100m Butterfly
1. Marony Jacobs (16) 1:07.73
2. Loghan Gray (17) 1:09.43
3. Zandri Knoetze (15) 1:11.29
Main Photo Caption: Jessica Thompson and Marony Jacobs caught deserved attention when 2025 started with a bang for swimmers in Mzansi, with the fastest talent in the sport catching the eye of selectors at Swimming SA’s Grand Prix in Mbombela from 10 to 11 January, 2025. All Photos: Swimming South Africa
Photo 2 Caption: Swimming SA’s High Performance Manager Dean Price says he was impressed by what he saw from the women swimmers over the weekend.
Photo 3 Caption: With the Junior Africa Championships in April, and the World Junior Champs in August, selectors were paying close attention to stand-out performances.
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