- South Africa's Olympic stars like Chad le Clos and Henri Schoeman have not had quality training facilities as they prepare for July's Tokyo Games.
- The Kings Park National Pool in Durban, dubbed as the 'home' of swimming in SA, has been temporarily closed since the lockdown.
- Le Clos and Schoeman shared their frustration as they are unable to properly train in an Olympic-sized pool in Durban.
South Africa's aquatic stars have been unable to prepare or train properly for this year's Tokyo Olympics since the Kings Park National Pool in Durban closed in last year's nationwide lockdown in March.
The Kings Park centre holds a 50m indoor and outdoor pool and it's dubbed as the home of swimming in South Africa. The facility has been temporarily closed as they are repairing a leaking roof, defective heaters and lighting.
Throw a global pandemic into the mix and the Kings Park's reopening is still in doubt and athletes are not happy.
South Africa's most decorated Olympian of all-time Chad le Clos told Sport24 that officials promised the swimmers that the pool would reopen at the end of 2020, but it never happened.
"It's frustrating what's going on here. Our national Kings Park, the home of swimming, is closed," he said in early February.
"They told me last year when I was overseas in September that it will be done at the end of October and then November and then December. Now they're saying it won't be open for the nationals, we don't have a proper training facility. We don't have the best conditions because Kings Park is not open. We are not able to train in proper facilities, but we'll take what we get."
Even star triathlete Henri Schoeman, who is based in Durban, stated that he hasn't been able to train in the water properly with the pool's closure.
"The only disadvantage I have now is I'm not swimming in the pool that I always used to. The municipality pool has been closed ever since the first lockdown at Kings Park in Durban," said Schoeman, who won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"It's been quite a struggle, but we've been very lucky to have access to school pools, it's not ideal, but at the end of the day, we still need to swim."
Those are accounts from only two of South Africa's top Olympic stars as athletes are unable to properly train for this year's rescheduled Games.
The continuing consequences of Kings Park closure has been detrimental to South Africa's top swimmers.
Le Clos, who holds one gold and three silvers at the Olympics, expressed his disappointment and anger over the negligence.
"I feel for these young kids trying to qualify and aren't getting enough training. It's just sad to see, it wouldn't happen if it was rugby or soccer, so why does it have to be us?" said Le Clos.
"I'm a positive person, but what's going on, it's just disgraceful."
With the closure of Kings Park, athletes are forced to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in 25-meter swimming pools.
Le Clos lamented the state of swimming in South Africa, stating that this would not happen to other sporting codes and stars in the country.
"It's like telling Wayde [van Niekerk] and Caster [Semenya] to run on a 200m track and that's what we are doing at the moment. We're training in a 25m pool, which is still good but it's not the same," said Le Clos.
"It's like telling Siya [Kolisi] and the guys who are preparing for a World Cup that you have to play on a small school field, it's not the same. But we make do with what we have, you can't work any harder at the moment.
"What's going in swimming? I don't know who's to blame, but what can we do? We're all good and healthy and that's the most important thing."
Sport24 has reached out to the Kings National Pool office, KwaZulu-Natal Aquatics and Swimming South Africa (SSA) but none were able to provide comment prior to publishing.
Kings Park also hosts the annual SA National Aquatic Championships and the tournament is now expected to shift this year to Newton Park in Port Elizabeth.
While the venue is not confirmed by SSA, Newton Park is one of the few 50m swimming pools in the country and has hosted events like the Lifesaving National Championships.
This year's National Championships, which takes place from 4-9 April, is more important than ever as many swimmers are looking to qualify for the Tokyo Games.
Le Clos admitted he isn't too keen on the move to Port Elizabeth, stating that conditions aren't suitable and plans will have to rearranged.
"Although I love PE, Durban has the best facilities ... it's all because they don't want to fix a roof. It just shouldn't be in PE. Kings Park has the fastest pool, it's got the weather, everything," he said.
The rescheduled Tokyo Olympics is expected to kick off from 23 July to 8 August.