'MEDALS ARE A BONUS'

Her performance at the Commonwealth Games turned her into an instant star but Lara van Niekerk remains a down-to-earth teen

-  JACO HOUGH-COETZEE

WHEN she was just four years old she insisted on taking off her safety gear while in the pool, despite her mom's warnings not to swim without it. And when her mother turned her back for just a moment, the little girl leapt into the water.

"Her face was underwater, but she was furiously kicking," Joa van Niekerk recalls of her sister's antics. "She was going in circles. It was too funny! I jumped in and pulled her out.

Now Joa's little sister, Lara van Niekerk, could swim circles around anyone - and proved her prowess in the pool at the recent Commonwealth Games.

The 19-year-old swimming sensation broke a Commonwealth Games record with a time of 29,73 seconds in the 50m breaststroke. Soon after she came first in the 100m breaststroke with another record time of 1:05,47.

Lara's proud mom, Hanalie, is thrilled with her daughter's accomplishments. "A lot of people contacted me to congratulate me," she says. "They say Lara's now a hero. But I tell them, 'No' - she's just Lara from Pretoria who's reaping the rewards of her hard work and determination.

Hanalie reminds her youngest daughter to stay grounded. As she puts it, "Remember, we all know golden girls don't stay golden girls forever." Lara laughs at her mom's words. "It's not like I want people to curtsey when I walk past!" she protests jokingly.

We're catching up with Lara, her mom and big sister Joa (23) at their Pretoria home, the day after she returned from the UK.

The Van Niekerk women shared a big breakfast this morning. Lara's dad, Patrick, and brother, Zander (21), are on a hunting trip in the Northern Cape. "Lara is always hungry, Hanalie says.

But they didn't feel like cooking the night she arrived, Lara says. "We stayed at home, ordered sushi and chatted about everything that's happened the past few weeks. It was a girly family talk!"