Isaacs, Kleinsmidt showdown at SA Lifesaving Championships shaping to be a classic

Sport24, in partnership with DHL and Lifesaving SA, previews the athletes likely to make a splash in the surf or sizzle on the sand at the 2022 DHL Lifesaving National Club Championships in Gqeberha from 20-26 March.

It will be the battle of the 19-year-olds in Gqeberha as Celina Isaacs come up against Ellen Kleinsmidt in one of the most anticipated showdowns of the weekend in the flags and sprints.

Kleinsmidt, who won gold in the flags at the recent 2022 Africa Lifesaving Championship in Egypt, also pipped Isaacs at the Club National Champs last year, but it was Isaacs who came out on top in the sprints, collecting a gold medal.

The two talented youngsters will be up against each other again, and Isaacs, aware of the competition that awaits, said, “I think that my biggest competitor is Ellen because she is an amazing athlete who helps me push myself".

Isaacs began lifesaving at 11 years old, off the suggestion of a friend, and since joining Milnerton Surf Club’s Nippers, she’s remained at the club and hasn’t looked back.

Specialising in the beach sprints and flags, Isaacs’ strength is in her speed and balance on the sand, but her most memorable moment comes in the water. 

“At a local competition during a board rescue race, my partner and I caught a wave all the way from backline onto the shore. We didn’t make finals but it was a memorable moment because we finished the race even though the water was really rough.”

In 2019 Isaacs made the Western Province team as well as the national team and competed in the International Surf Rescue Challenge, just missing a podium finish by placing fourth in the flags and sprints. In 2021, Isaacs again made Province and earlier this year, she made the Proteas team for the African Lifesaving