Wantenaar’s big 12 months: ‘Crazy to think how far I’ve come’

Ronan Wantenaar has had a historic year for Namibia, becoming their first-ever world championship semi-finalist in swimming back in December and doing so again at the very next opportunity this summer.He did so for the first time at the short course world championships in Budapest, placing 16th in the 50 breast, before finishing 10th in the same event in long course in Singapore in July.That does underplay just how close he came to going one step further. After he set a national record of 26.85 in the heats, two-tenths under his previous mark of 27.05, he stopped the clock in 26.94 in the semi-finals – just one one-hundredth shy of tying for 8th and forcing a swim-off for a berth in the final.That ended up being a two-way tie for 8th in 26.93 between Austrian Luka Mladenovic and Frenchman Antoine Viquerat, with Mladenovic going on to win the swim-off in 26.97 to advance to the final, where he placed 8th.Wantenaar, however, was still only 0.02 seconds away from 7th and a guaranteed finals berth.The 50 was his strongest event coming into Singapore. There he became the first African swimmer from outside South Africa to break that mark, and now sits 4th all-time in the continental rankings.His heats swim of 26.85 ranked him 7th coming into the semi-finals, ahead of 2023 world champion Qin Haiyang and 100 breast finalists Caspar Corbeau and Lucas Matzerath. Wantenaar ended up beating out Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi and Japan’s national record holder Taku Taniguchi in the semi-finals, despite adding slightly.‘Wasn’t expecting that’His performances both in Singapore and through the year as a whole have come as a surprise to even himself.“I wasn’t expecting to perform the way I have this summer, even short course in Budapest was also a surprise to me... I can’t say that I saw myself achieving these times.“My next goals would be to push for a medal at the Commonwealth Games next summer and make my name and country known to the world in the process.”Wantenaar ends the year at 15th in the season rankings for the 50 breast, marking the first time since 2013 that two African swimmers have ranked in the top 15. That year, Cameron van der Burgh (1st) and Giulio Zorzi (3rd) stood on the podium at worlds.This was not Wantenaar’s first swim of the meet either. He was 1:00.63 in the 100 breast on the first day of competition, coming within seven-tenths of a semi-final swim there with 59.98 required.That was just off his personal best and national record of 1:00.53, set at the Giant Open meet in Paris this May – a meet where he outduelled several elite French and Dutch swimmers, as well as Michael Andrew (USA).Commonwealth Games contenderWantenaar has seen staggering progression since his 2017 World Championship debut. He placed 58th in the 50 breast there in Budapest in a time of 30.27, and did not compete in the 100.His prowess is also not limited to breaststroke – he holds national records in the 50 back, 100 back, 100 IM, and 200 IM as well as all three breaststroke distances.He has improved significantly since his first international appearance, and is on track to become a contender in at least the 50 breast at next year’s Commonwealth Games. There are only four active Commonwealth swimmers with best times faster than the Namibian athlete: Adam Peaty, Sam Williamson, Chris Smith and Michael Houlie.With Peaty taking the 2024-25 season off and targeting one last hurrah at LA 2028, and Williamson still recovering from a gruesome knee injury, Wantenaar would not be a surprising medalist. He would become the first swimmer from Namibia to stand on the Commonwealth podium if he does do that, and Cameron van der Burgh’s African record of 26.54 may even be in jeopardy – this is a record he himself now says he has his eyes on.He is aware of the responsibilities that come with becoming a role model back home. Wantenaar says that it was watching Chad le Clos win Olympic gold in the 200 fly in 2012 that inspired him to commit to swimming and just over a decade later he finds himself on the same stage as his own role models.“It still feels surreal to me to be on the same stage as world champions and Olympic medalists. Being a top African swimmer is something many aspire to become and having people look up to me is an honour...I have to be wise with how I present myself as the younger generation.”Wantenaar can count himself among the very top African swimmers right now – he was one of six to make a semi-final or final in Singapore, and along with Ahmed Jaouadi (Tunisia) one of just two from outside South Africa.The journeyWantenaar currently trains in Antibes, France, where he has been on the World Aquatics scholarship since 2024. The World Aquatics centre there opened 10 months before the Paris Olympics.Prior to training in France, Wantenaar had been training in Kazan, Russia and then Phuket, Thailand, both also on the WA scholarship program.“The fact that I have been to many different WA scholarship centres and been part of the development program for years makes me feel very fortunate and blessed. “I can still remember applying for the scholarship back in 2019 while studying and thinking I will probably not get the scholarship, but it won’t hurt to try.”Today he is a flagship athlete for the program, and has now made semi-finals at both the short course and long course world championships. No scholarship athlete has ever qualified for a world or Olympic final before, making Wantenaar’s close shave in the 50 breast this year even more agonising.&bull; Read Sam Blacker’s full insightful story on SwimSwam.com/

Wantenaar’s big 12 months: ‘Crazy to think how far I’ve come’

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Wantenaar’s big 12 months: ‘Crazy to think how far I’ve come’

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