Novice rower learns to swim and then bags three Ussa golds

The Madibaz men’s eight finished fifth in the A final of the Ussa sprints regatta, their highest finish at that level since 2007

Rowing newcomer Siyabonga Mhlungu went from being unable to swim to earning three gold medals in the space of six months at the University Sports South Africa’s sprints regatta recently.

Mhlungu joined the Madibaz Rowing Club last year saying he wanted to win gold medals and left no stroke unturned in getting himself ready for his quest.

His first port of call was signing up for Mandela University’s Learn-to-Swim programme.

With that obstacle overcome, he headed to the Misverstand Dam in the Western Cape in April along with his teammates to implement the rest of the plan.

There he and his colleagues rowed their way to three victories in the novice section across the scull, coxed four and mixed eight disciplines, with club chairman Adam Stead doing duty as cox in the latter.

He also picked up a silver in the highly-technical double scull race.

The team’s triumph in the eight event is particularly meaningful given the club’s ongoing investment in developing new rowers.

Numbers had in fact increased to such an extent that the team comprised 25 rowers, of which 16 were men and nine women.

Most notably, 11 of the rowers were classified as “novices” due to them having taken up the sport less than 12 months prior to the competition.

Despite its developing squad, the Madibaz delivered solid results in a highly competitive field. The men placed fifth overall and the women eighth.

Stead explains that the points system rewards depth as much as performance, making the team’s results particularly encouraging.

From just seven members in 2022, the club now boasts around 50 active rowers. In fact, only four rowers, all of them men, represented the university at the Ussas in 2024.

The standout performance from the Madibaz came from their men’s eight crew, whose fifth in the A final was their best since 2007. The women’s coxed four also placed fifth.

Madibaz Rowing has enjoyed periods of success historically, most notably in the 2012/13 and 2016/17 seasons, but reaching the A finals has been a rarity.

Stead contributes the resurgence to strong leadership by coaches Alasdair MacPhail and Cameron Wilke as well as the clear goals set by the student committee.

These include establishing the club as one of the most respected university rowing programmes in the country.

Support from within the rowing fraternity, leading to improvements in equipment, has also played a role as it enables more athletes to train effectively.

Increased competition for places, a strong recruitment drive and a steady pipeline of talent from Grey High have further strengthened the squad.

With the Ussa sprints in the bag, the Madibaz will now start building towards the Ussa RMB Boatrace in September.