Amber-Rose Berry, a Grade 10 learner at Rhenish Girls’ High School, achieved a personal goal and became the youngest swimmer to complete the False Bay Crossing at the weekend.
The last reported conqueror of the 33 km stretch from Miller’s Point to Rooiels was Kyle Stevens from Johannesburg in 2022, at the age of 16 years and 349 days.
Amber-Rose completed the gruelling swim at the age of 16 years, two months and 16 days, thus beating the previous age by almost 300 days.
“Completing this ultra marathon swimming challenge is something we at Rhenish Girls’ High School are very proud of. We look forward to Amber-Rose’s future achievements in aquatic sports,” said acting principal Rika Kroon.
The talented open-water and adventure swimmer is no stranger to taking on long distances, having completed the Cape Town to Robben Island crossing in Grade 8 and Grade 9, crossing this stretch for the first time at just 13 years old.
“Four years ago I was invited to be part of a False Bay relay team, and then Covid-19 hit. It’s always been my dream, but I never thought it would happen this soon,” Amber-Rose said. “So when my coach told me there was an opportunity, I jumped at the chance. It’s just a coincidence that doing it now makes me the youngest person to complete the swim.”
She has her sights set on swimming the English Channel in August 2026, and although the distance is the same, the channel is well known for its ships and other sea traffic, which will make navigating it much more of a challenge.
