Six medals, three qualifying times: Kaydn Naidoo eyes Olympic dream

Beavers Swimming Club swimmer Kaydn Naidoo has his sights firmly set on the 2028 Olympics after a breakthrough performance at the World Short Course Championships this past weekend. 

Naidoo competed in seven events, won six medals and secured three B qualifying times.

While he was disappointed not to win his butterfly stroke events, Naidoo said he was still pleased with his overall performance, particularly after not winning a medal at the championships last year.

“I felt great after achieving those results. A bit upset that I didn’t win the fly events, but I’ll take a medal seeing I didn’t get any last year,” he said.

Naidoo who hails from the Beavers Swimming Club, said one of his biggest surprises came in the 200m butterfly, which he described as his most challenging event.

Naidoo had not specifically trained for the 200m events, instead focusing mainly on the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly.

Despite that, he managed to shave eight seconds off his previous time in the 200m butterfly.

“The most surprising race for me was the 200 butterfly. I didn’t expect to take off eight seconds in one race,” he said.

The improvements were particularly significant for Naidoo because he had been stuck on some of his times for three years and had struggled to make progress across his events.

“Those improvements meant a lot to me because I’ve been stuck on those times for three years and have been struggling to drop times in all my events,” he said.

Among his results was gold in the 100m individual medley, along with silver medals in three butterfly events.

Rather than choosing one race or medal as his favourite, Naidoo said each performance held significance because they showed him that he still had more to give.

“They show me that I have more to give, that I have been improving over the months, and that the training I’ve been doing is working perfectly,” he said.

His three B qualifying times have also brought the possibility of representing South Africa at a world championship closer.

“It would mean the world to me to represent my country on the world stage again,” Naidoo said.

“It’s always an amazing feeling to finally swim for something bigger than just myself.”

A different approach to training

Naidoo credits changes to his training over the past few months for helping him make consistent progress.

He trains under coach Ryan Fincham, with the pair adopting a new approach that includes using an app called Deep Lane, which Naidoo created.

The app is used to generate training sets with AI, track attendance and monitor overall performances.

Naidoo said the new method of training has helped him improve consistently and perform better at each gala he has competed in.

His training schedule is also different from that of the wider squad. He currently trains on his own before the squad begins because he is studying towards an honours degree in robotics and has lectures.

Eyes on 2028

With the recent championships providing a confidence boost, Naidoo’s biggest goal is now clear: qualifying for the 2028 Olympics.

For now, however, he is focused on taking smaller steps towards that long-term ambition.

“The smaller goals are to improve steadily and consistently throughout the months and swimming seasons to finally reach the bigger goal of Olympics,” he said.

Behind those ambitions are his coach and parents, whom Naidoo credits for playing an important role in his development.

He said his parents have always supported his dreams and motivated him to improve.

“They are both my biggest supporters and I couldn’t thank them enough for everything they’ve sacrificed to get me to where I am today,” he said.

IOL