Three, two, one: go!
Not even 21 yet, she has lived on three continents, is all set to compete at her second Olympic Games and was the one “new face” to qualify for an individual Olympic event at the national swimming champs in Gqeberha last week.
Meet Aimee Canny, born and raised in Knysna on the Garden Route, relocated to Plymouth, England to finish school studies and now studying in Virginia, US.
Aiming to qualify for the 200m freestyle at nationals, she missed the qualifying time by 0.13sec in the finals despite claiming gold in 1min 57.39sec.
“I think I was just too nervous in the final,” she explained in between her economics degree classes at the University of Virginia this week. “I ran over to my mom and burst into tears.
“I had to quickly weigh up my options and knew the leadoff in the 4x200m relay would be the best option to qualify so I picked myself up and recomposed myself. I’ll never forget touching the wall in that relay.”
Her time was 1:56.80 but she didn’t know it. “The timekeepers were in front of the clock and the other girls had to tell me that I’d done it. It was a feeling unlike I’d ever had.”
Once again she ran over to mom, Denni-Lyn, but this time “it was happy tears, not sad tears”.
Her time is also a national record, having wiped out the mark of 1:57.17 set by another Olympian, Karin Prinsloo, 10 long years ago.
What makes Canny’s qualification remarkable is that for the bulk of her short life she trained in a 25m pool in the laid-back tourist town of Knysna. Now unleashed in a 50m pool her true potential is rising to the surface.
“After I finished school in Plymouth I just wasn’t enjoying my swimming and needed a break. But I’d always wanted to go to college in the US, so I did take a bit of a break and now that I’m here at Virginia I’ve never been happier. There are so many international sportsmen and women here and I share a room with a New Zealand international swimmer whose name is also Aimee.”
She says college life is amazing. “The team culture and US lifestyle is great and to be able to get a whole year of training in a squad under head coach Todd DeSorbo is going to be so beneficial.”
She was part of the squad, named the Virginia Cavaliers, that won National Collegiate Athletic Association championships in March for the third consecutive time.
“We’re student/athletes here and the student aspect takes precedence but the balance is so well done that though you’re working and training very hard it doesn’t actually feel that way.”
Canny was part of Team SA at the spectator-free 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. “It was actually my first senior international event. I did the relay so it was a learning experience but I think I was more star-struck by the people around me.”
Despite being more than six months from her 21st birthday in November, she says: “I’m a lot more mature and confident with who I am in racing.”
Canny’s swimming roots were nurtured in Knysna by Grant Ferguson and he took time out from his base in the Cayman Islands to share his thoughts.
“I had the honour of coaching Aimee for more than a decade,” he says. One particular memory that stands out is Aimee’s early days in a modest 10m pool. Even then, her grace and determination were unmistakable.
“But it was a Level 2 race in East London that truly showcased Aimee’s indomitable spirit. Despite starting 15sec behind the top-seeded swimmer in the 200m breaststroke, she summoned an extraordinary burst of energy, clinching victory in a display of sheer willpower. I’ll never forget the sight of her, utterly spent yet triumphant, unable to move a muscle after the race — a moment that solidified my belief in her potential for greatness.”
He confirms that there’s way more to her than just swimming. “Her sense of humour and composure endeared her to all who knew her. Her playful antics, like pretending to swim breaststroke in a freestyle race from the blocks, just to tease her mom and me, brought levity to even the most tense moments.
“Coaching Aimee wasn’t just about refining her technique; it was about nurturing her love for the sport, a love that fuels true champions.”
Aimee’s proud mom Denni-Lyn adds from Knysna: “Aimee’s swimming was nothing really special in the early years, but I realised she had that X-factor one day when we did an open water swim and I looked up and saw her swimming breaststroke/backstroke next me to slow down to my pace. I told her to do her own thing, looked up again and she was 300m ahead of me!”
Canny senior says the sacrifices were many. “Any holiday we went on had to be somewhere where there was a pool. She’s never questioned her coaches, her work ethic is incredible and Grant [Ferguson] gave her a great early grounding.
“Aimee has been extremely lucky to have local Knysna coach Francois Boshoff, who took over after Grant left SA. Francois has always been her domestic coach when she’s back in SA and given her access to the pool etc.”
She says there have been times when Aimee has come close to calling it a day. “Going to the UK was a high and she also competed in the 2022 Commonwealth Games but didn’t do well — she was just doing too much in England. Her day was starting at 4.30am and ending at past 10pm.
“She came home at the end of 2022 and was shattered. It had all become too much, even whether she should still go to Virginia. The coach there said it was perfectly understandable and advised her to take a break — it was the best decision she could have made.”
Mom says one of her daughter’s best attributes is her humility. “She knows she’s a good swimmer now but will never let it get to her head. And what made it special at nationals was that the first people to congratulate her were Olympians Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker) and Erin Gallagher. They know the work it takes to qualify for the Olympics. It was also really special that Karin Prinsloo was one of the first people to send her congratulations.”
Aimee’s thoughts are now on the Paris Olympics just four months up the road.
“I’m finally in the 1:56 club for the 200 free which is a big deal for me...especially after I had to double taper... for NCAA and then for nationals. I’m just very, very excited about Paris because I know there’s so much more I can give!”
Like any sports persona she admits to having her fair share of superstitions growing up. “l always used the same towel throughout a gala, especially if I started well. It would be well and truly soaked by the end of the meeting because it never got time to dry.”
Expect something different from young Canny, because one thing’s for sure, she’s not going to throw in the towel when it comes to giving her best for her country.
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