Ramaala's son a rising star - in swimming

You would think that running runs through Hendrick Ramaala's family, yet his teen son is winning medals for South Africa - in swimming.

Alex Ramaala bagged four gongs at a Southern African age-group gala in Luanda, Angola, at the weekend. He took bronze in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke races in the under-13 and 14 category, as well as a relay gold medal.

"He definitely has the talent [for swimming]," said his dad, a former winner of the New York Marathon who represented South Africa at four Olympic games from 1996 to 2008.

"But talent is nothing without the will. He could run at my pace for 13 minutes," added Ramaala senior, whose 10000m SA record from 1999 still stands.

"He likes swimming more than running. He did soccer and martial arts. He did all these things, but I think he's stuck with swimming."

Ramaala said he supported Alex's decision even though he knew little about his chosen sport.

"If he needs a lift to Pretoria, I'll take him. Whatever he needs. I just go and watch. I don't know what is going on. I don't even know the strokes. I follow swimming at the Olympics because of [Michael] Phelps and [Chad] Le Clos, but now I follow it more because of him."

The SA team won the gala overall, finishing with 2490 points, ahead of Angola, Zambia, Kenya and Mauritius.