Phillip Seidler may very well be a reincarnation of a mystical ancient ocean dweller, which explains why he is more at home in the Atlantic than on land.
He feels at one with the ocean.
He can’t stay out of the water, which is why he swiftly returned to his natural habitat after calling time on his swimming career to take up formal employment.
Introduced to swimming at age five as part of rehabilitation to recover from a broken arm, Seidler took to water like a duck and has gone on to become Namibia’s pre-eminent open water swimmer.
The 25 year-old is headed to Paris for his second consecutive Olympic Games and as always, he intends to make a splash in the mens’ 10km open water swim.
“It’s like my second home. That’s where I feel most comfortable. Being in the ocean, and in water in general, just gives me a calm, relaxed feeling,” the proud Swakopmunder says.
“It feels like I was born to be a shark in the ocean but I’m trapped in a human’s body. That’s how I feel.”
Seidler finished a respectable 13 places off the podium at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The aim is to better that performance in Paris, where a record 57 athletes from 30 countries are confirmed to compete in marathon swimming events.
The athletes will swim in the river Seine, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower at Pont Alexandre III, with the events taking place from 8 and 9 August.
Seidler is scheduled to compete on the second day.
“For the 2021 Olympics, I trained my entire life. For twelve years, every day: breathe, live, dreaming about the Olympics. It takes so much hard work, discipline and dedication,” says Seidler, who adds that excelling in competitive sport requires great sacrifice.
However, having a support structure lessens the burden.
“Swimming is a very lonely sport. My mom and my father coach me, so I know my mom mainly as my coach. So, what happens in the pool stays in the pool,” he notes.
“I don’t believe many athletes can do what my mom and I do to keep this family relationship and the professional relationship separate. But we have been doing it for 12 years and it worked really well.
“And, now going for a second Olympics is just embracing that I’m lucky enough in this world to be talented enough and working hard enough to actually make it to my second Olympic Games,” Seidler says.
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