Rising Tides: The Story of Ghana’s Fastest Female Swimmer, Ophelia Swayne
Professional athletes in Ghana overcome huge odds to win glory for their teams and for their country. This is the story of one of them — Ophelia Swayne — who is hard at work training for the Swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
— Ghanaian Entrepreneurs #5—
Ghanaian Entrepreneurs is an interview series celebrating Ghanaian business owners at home and abroad who’re building businesses, making moves, and making Ghana proud.
The water feels like a hundred tonne kick to the chest as it swallows you. A split-second of disorientation, and then every muscle in your body screams as you kick forwards. You have under 26 seconds to torpedo across 50 meters. If you succeed, you’ll carry the hopes and dreams of an entire country with you to the 2016 Summer Olympics. If you fail, you let everyone down.
22 seconds. You come up for air. 18 seconds. You feel the ominous tingle of a cramp in your left leg. 11 seconds. Every waking moment for over a year has led to this moment. 6 seconds. You can hear your teammates screaming your name. 4 seconds. You can see the end of the lane, and all you need to do is reach out and-
Most of us will never experience the overwhelming pressure of going up against some of the world’s most accomplished sportspeople, every single one of them in peak physical and mental condition. And most of us will never be in position to have a single opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games, arguably the world’s most celebrated display of human physical accomplishment.
For Ophelia Swayne, however, this is daily life, and she trains intensely to ensure that when she leaps into the pool for the swim that will determine whether she competes in the Swimming event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she comes out a winner.
We met with Ophelia at the Burma Camp Sports Complex in Accra before her daily training to learn more about the daily life of a professional athlete in Ghana, how she’s preparing for the 2016 Olympics, and why it’s so difficult to do professional sports in Ghana.
Please introduce yourself
Hi there! My name is Ophelia Swayne, and I’m a 20 year old Ghanaian professional swimmer. I started swimming at the age of three at the urge of my mother. She is scared of water and did not want us to have the same fear. I vividly remember my first trainer — he was old school. As in, he literally threw me into the water and held out a stick I was only allowed to grab onto if I was drowning (laughs).
It was an intense start, but I quickly grew to enjoy the water, to the point where my mum’s favourite form of punishment when I did something bad as a child was to prevent me from going to swim practice.
Are your siblings professional swimmers as well?
My sister Zenobia (17) is training on another team, but with similar intensity. She is the second best female swimmer in Ghana after me. My brother Kwaku Addo (18) is the second best male swimmer in Ghana.
And is there much competition amongst you and your siblings?
The competition is definitely fierce among the three of us at home. (laughs) But we also support each other. For example, we watch each other swimming and give each other pointers on how to improve our technique. My sister and I also share our current training times with each other so we both know where we stand.
When did you start training for competitions?
I started swimming professionally when I was 13, when my family moved back to Ghana from London. My siblings and I were just playing in the pool when a coach approached us and asked if we wanted to swim for his team.
I initially just wanted to do it for fun, but I soon learned that training on a team is a whole different ballgame. I remember the evening after my first day of training — I was so exhausted. However, I soon became the best girl on the team, so my coach encouraged me to go into competitions.
How do you train to become a professional swimmer?
When my siblings and I started, we only swam 2,000 meters per session, and we didn’t train every day. Soon, we increased the distance and frequency of training. At some point, we started working on technique and also went to the gym to do core exercises.
Now, I train six days a week. I spend about two hours in the pool during one session. Then I go to the gym where I train my stomach and my arms using exercises such as planks, situps and leg ups. I use an app called Ab Challenge for my gym exercises.
For competitions, you usually focus on freestyle and one other stroke — the breaststroke, the backstroke, or the butterfly. You also pick a distance you’re good at, which you figure out during training. I do freestyle and butterfly on short distance (50 meters) for competitions.
Sleep and nutrition are as important as swim training and exercising, especially when you prepare for a competition. I sleep a lot. I am usually gone by 10 pm and I make sure that I get at least 8 hours.
But getting the right nutrition is pretty tough for me in Ghana. You’re supposed to eat a lot of fish and vegetables and avoid carbs. But at home we have to eat whatever is in the house, so my diet is not as strict as it should be. In general, I eat a lot of beans and plantain over here in Ghana. I am off Kenkey, because it makes you heavy in water. I don’t drink alcohol when I go out and I avoid soda and soft drinks. I miss Fanta so much (laughs). When I want to treat myself, I have some cake. They serve cake at competitions as well, so it cannot be that bad, right?
What has been your greatest achievement so far.
I won a gold and a silver medal at the 2013 Lagos International Classics in Nigeria. It was really intense, because all the West African countries come together and compete. The best swimmers in West Africa are usually from Nigeria, and I think they didn’t like the fact that I beat them (laughs). However, athletes generally become curious when you beat them and want to get to know you more.
I also won two gold medals at the International Schwimmfest in Germany. That was a pretty big accomplishment for me because I was competing against swimmers from almost 150 clubs from all over the world.
I currently hold the Ghanaian national record for 50 meters freestyle (28.10 secs), which I achieved at the 2013 FINA World Championship in Barcelona. I also hold the 50 meters butterfly record (29.51 secs) for women, which I achieved at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China. However, I recently dropped my time for butterfly from 29.51 secs to 28.54 secs. That is almost a whole second. It might not sound much, but trust me, a second is a lot!
What do your friends and family think about your swimming career?
My mum is my biggest fan. She supports me financially and emotionally, and is constantly encouraging me to do even better.
My friends don’t do sports, so they used to get angry at me when I missed events because of training. Now they are more understanding, because they have other things to do as well.
You travel a lot for competitions. What has been your best experience so far?
I have done competitions in many different countries, including China, Scotland, Dubai, Botswana, and Mozambique. I think one of the most exciting swimming events were the Commonwealth Games in Scotland in 2014. There were so many superstars there. I had the chance to watch Usain Bolt run. It was amazing to watch other athletes perform live and support them. You also get to interact with athletes from different countries and make friends. Competitions are always fun, because you usually have some time to see the country as well.
Tell us more about your next competition.
I want to represent Ghana at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. In order to qualify, I will travel to Romania with my team for the Olympics qualifiers at the end of May. My team consists of my siblings — Kwaku and Zenobia — and I, as well as Ghana’s best male swimmer Abeku Jackson, who holds the current national record for 50 meters freestyle, 50 meters butterfly and 100 meters butterfly.
At the qualifier in Romania, I need to swim 50 meters freestyle in under 26 seconds to make qualification time. My current time is 28 seconds, so I still need to improve. I’m giving it my full attention right now. I’m currently training to build stamina, so I swim long distance (200 meters) to improve my short distance speed.
What is your goal for Rio?
If I make it to Rio, I want to do 25 seconds. That would be an improvement of three seconds! This would make me so happy. I’m confident that I can do it, because I have achieved a lot already. If I train hard, stay focused, make sure my diet is good, and get support from my country, I don’t see any reason why I should fail.
What does it cost to do be a professional swimmer?
Our swim costumes are very expensive. You pay $500 for the FINA-approved swim costume you need to wear during competitions. The costume for boys is slightly cheaper, it costs $400. It is made from special material and allows you to cut through the water more easily. It is super tight and takes forever to put on.
I got my current swim suit a long time ago and it is developing air, so I really need a new one. I need to get it shipped to Ghana and try it on to see if it fits. The costume is too expensive to use it for training, so I only use it for competitions. I have seen people at competitions cutting it off their body with scissors afterwards, because it is so tight. However, I could never afford that.
Another huge expense is transportation. It costs a lot to go from North Legon to Burma Camp, where I train twice a day. The people in my life have been so generous. My old swim coach also negotiated a deal so we could train at the gym for free. He also paid for us to go to competitions out of his own pocket.
Tell us about your fundraising efforts for the trip to Romania
Participation in these competitions is expensive, and the Ministry of Sports does not have money to support us financially. They told us that they don’t have money to get us to Romania, so we have to find other ways to raise the money. Luckily, we found a corporate sponsor for the plane tickets to Romania, but there are other expenses as well.
My friend Yaw had the idea to start a GoFundMe campaign to raise awareness and get the needed money. We’re trying to raise $10,000 for this cause. The money will be spent on new swimsuits for my team, on feeding and accommodation, and on enabling my coach Kakra to fly over. If we collect enough, I would love to have him there, because he knows my strengths and weaknesses best.
Why is it important to you to have your trainer with you?
My trainer Kakra started work with me only a month ago, but since then, I’ve dropped my time by a whole second, which is something I previously couldn’t achieve in a whole year. So he is definitely doing something right. We work extremely really well together.
I personally think that a good trainer does not have to be super hard and should not scare you. You should be able to tell a trainer if something feels off, and a good trainer will communicate with you and listen to you, while also pushing you to do more.
Do you train others yourself?
I sometimes help the younger swimmers on my team with technical problems. Teaching them is pretty hard because kids can be stubborn and don’t always listen to you. But it’s a great feeling when you get them to do the right thing.
I try to inspire especially the young females to improve their time. In general, I want to get more young women into swimming, because we don’t have enough females. The common perception is that it’s a man’s sport. Many girls are scared that their bodies will become too built and that the chlorine will tan their skin into a darker shade. My friends give me grief because of my stature. They say my body is too lean and I should have more meat on me because I cannot wear certain things. Females with an athletic body have a hard time matching the beauty standard here in Ghana.
Who inspires you?
One of my biggest inspirations is Alia Atkinson. She is a Jamaican swimmer and holds the world record in Women’s 100-meter breaststroke. I look up to her because she has achieved this as black woman. If she can do it, then there is hope for us. There’s a ridiculous myth that black people have thicker bones and therefore a huge disadvantage in competitions. Her achievements prove them wrong.
Another awesome swimmer is Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry. I met her at the African Youth Swimming Tournament in Zimbabwe, and she taught me that I can achieve anything if I train properly and consistently.
I also love watching Chad Le Clos, a swimmer from South Africa. He inspires me because he is humble and dedicated to his work and super focused. I watch him swimming and try to incorporate his technique into mine.
What are your plans for your swimming career?
I am in my best years, right now I have full energy. I want to actively pursue my swimming career at least for 4 more years. However, there are cases of professional swimmers in their thirties, so it does not have to end after that.
However, only very few swimmers get to the point where they can make a living with swimming. You need to be really extraordinarily good to be recognized and get sponsorship deals. I believe that with my passion and dedication to training, I can become extraordinarily good and I will get a great sponsorship deal.
What are your plans for the future?
I love drawing, so I am thinking of going to Art School. I would also like to become an architect. Or maybe a realtor? Whatever field I finally choose, I am looking for a job that pays me well but allows me enough flexibility to continue swimming, which is my passion. I can’t imagine a day passing by without me being able to dive into the pool! To be honest, I have not figured it out yet, but I will fully concentrate on this once the Olympics are over.
I am thinking about studying abroad, because it would be much easier to coordinate my studies with my swim training. I will always be willing to swim for my country though.
What do you do when you are not swimming?
I love going out with friends and playing Scrabble. I’m pretty serious about my Scrabble and I meet with friends every week to play (laughs). Recently, my sister, Zenobia, and I took part in a professional Scrabble competition, which was a great experience. We had to play against current and former National Scrabble champions and although we lost, we learnt a lot from them. Next year, we will participate again but this time we will win!
Other than swimming, I enjoy running. I used to run for my school, but I never got to a professional level.
And I really love drawing. This is one of my drawings [Ophelia shows us a drawing on her phone]. Do you recognize what it is? It is a shredded heart. My mom looked at it and thought it was a pig, which was kinda depressing (laughs).
Why are there so few people swimming in Ghana?
Parents don’t let their children near the water, because they are afraid that they’ll drown. But it is slowly picking up and more parents are getting their children into swimming.
I sincerely believe that swimming should be compulsory at every school. At my old school in London, everyone had to take swimming lessons in grade 5. This way, everyone got introduced to the basics of swimming, which is super important survival skill, and the people who took to it were able to continue by joining a club.
I would encourage everybody to swim; it is such an awesome sport. I can’t fully articulate how good swimming is for you. You exercise your body from head to toe. If swimming is not for you, join any sports. My friends do yoga and aerobics, which is another great way to get in shape.
How can the government support professional swimming?
I get to interact with athletes from other countries and disciplines a lot during competitions. For example, the Nigerian swimmers get a lot more support from their country. When Nigerians take part in international competitions, they get money for the plane tickets and proper accommodation. When I went to Nigeria for the West African Games, we could only afford the most basic rooms and they were pretty bad and damp. I would expect the Ghanaian government to cover for our competitions as well. It is only fair, because we represent our country and our success will benefit Ghana in the end.
Unfortunately, the conditions are as bad for Ghanaian athletes from other disciplines. For example, Ghana has a para-wheelchair racing club and they’re going through a lot. Some of them cannot afford a special wheelchair required for wet ground. So they have to hope that it does not rain during a competition, because they cannot participate otherwise.
I also don’t believe that there is no money to support athletes, because we all know about the special treatment football players get. It makes me mad when I think about how much money they get, because if those amounts were spread evenly among all the sports, we could all collectively be a lot better off. I understand that soccer is the most popular sport in Ghana, while swimming is only slowly picking up, but with the right support, other sports could develop as well and we could be proud of our successes in other disciplines as well.
We are not asking for that much. Just cater for our competitions, cover our stories when we are successful, and encourage professional development in all the different sports.
In general, the Ghanaian government should support a healthier lifestyle. Physical activity should be an integral part of the school curriculum. I’d like to see running, basketball, and of course, swimming, on the schedule. We should also stop promoting fizzy drinks like Coke, Fanta, and Sprite, because they’re extremely bad for you.
Who would you like to thank?
I would like to thank Goldfields Ghana for sponsoring the plane tickets to Romania for me and my siblings and Auntie Sam, who put us in touch with Goldfields. Aunty Sara, who gives us a lot of support and advice, especially about our PR and how to handle the media. She is also a swimmer so she understands the challenges professional swimmers in Ghana have to face. And of course my friends Yaw and Kwaasi for helping us raise money by setting up our GoFundMe campaign.
Support Ophelia
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/getOphelia2romania
ExpressPay: expresspaygh.com/ophelia
Facebook: facebook.com/opheliaolympics
