Omicron dashed Zalika Methula’s dream of representing South Africa last year but now she is heading to Budapest to compete at the FINA World Championship.
South Africa (03 June 2022) – 16-year-old Zalika Methula has her heart set on representing South Africa. She is a talented diver, and just before she was to fly to Ukraine in 2021, Omicron happened, and her dreams were dashed. Now she has been invited to dive at the FINA World Championship in Budapest.
Zalika started diving at the age of nine, specialising in springboard diving and synchro. She is able to dive from both the 1-meter board and the 3-meter, a height that gives most jelly legs. Zalika was set to be the first South African black female junior diver to qualify for the FINA Diving World Junior Championship in over a decade. Her dream was so close to reality and then the new varient caused a travel ban for South Africans and she had to cancel her trip to the championship. Winnie, Zalika’s mother, had managed to fully fund the trip thanks to a successful crowdfund on BackaBuddy.
Thankfully, Zalika’s dream can now resume. She was invited to join the team of South African’s representing the country at the 19th FINA World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. The event will run from the 17th of June to the 3rd of July.
This is Zalika’s chance to get expereince in an international competition. She is competing in the 1-metre Springboard. All her supporters and crowdfunders are excited to finally see her dream become a reality.
Her school, St. Mary’s Waverley, took to social media to celebrate her.
“Zalika, Form III, has been selected to compete in the Senior World Championships taking place in Budapest from 24 June to 3 July.
This is a major achievement as she will be competing with the best divers in the world. It is the first of the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Good luck, Zalika!”
Attending the FINA World Championship leads her one step closer to representing South Africa at the Olympics.
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