A spirit unbroken

As 26-year-old South African teacher Tamin Lee Connolly collapses into the sofa and pulls her legs up underneath her, she laughs as she remembers how different her life was a decade ago. On the cusp of a brilliant swimming career, Connolly had a horrendous accident, after which doctors told her she would never walk again.

Born in Sabi in South Africa, her sporting talent was spotted early. “When I was in Grade 2, I won a school swimming gala and started to take coaching lessons,'' she says. “On the days I was not coached, my dad would wake me up and take me to the local dams to swim lengths — something I hated.''

Big achievement

After winning several competitions, Connolly became a junior Springbok in her native country but her big break came when the Malaysian swimming team approached her parents.
“I moved there when I was 11.

My education was paid for and I swam in the national team,'' she says. “In 1998, I was chosen to be a reserve for Malaysia at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.''

Driven by her accomplishments, Connolly was keen to improve and trained intensively — without any idea her life was about to change drastically.

“I was swimming in the training pool when someone jumped off a diving board and landed on me, breaking my back,'' she says matter-of-factly. “When I woke up, I was in hospital and my parents, who were living in Sumatra at the time, were by my bedside.

The doctors said I was paralysed from the waist down and that I would never walk again.''

Relocating to South Africa for her rehabilitation, she experienced excruciating pain. “It was ten months before I could walk unaided,'' she says.

“For three years after that, I had to attend physiotherapy four times a week.''

She credits her recovery to her family. “At times, I had
a complete meltdown. I didn't want to see anyone and wanted to be alone,'' she says. “But my family — my mum and my sister Misty, in particular — would rally round me and try to motivate me to continue.''

With her swimming career finished, she decided to train to be a sports teacher in Johannesburg. “To pass the course, I had to do sports and, ironically, after the accident, the one sport I could manage was swimming,'' she says, smiling.

Fighting back

Undeterred by the strict health instructions, she strived to regain her active lifestyle. “In 2002, I started running against advice,'' she says. “In 2003, I cycled from Johannesburg to Durban in four days. This was a breakthrough for me. It gave me the confidence to continue pushing myself. I started competing in triathlons. Then in 2006, I completed a half ironman competition.''

While many people would have been resentful and missed opportunities, she remains philosophical. “I believe everyone has a path in life and I was on a path that needed to be changed,'' she says.

True path

Connolly's latest project, she believes, is her life's true path. Sponsored by Jeep Wrangler, National Geographic and Lonely Planet, she will spend one year travelling around the African continent doing volunteer work.

“I plan to visit 32 countries. My trip will begin in Dubai in July 2011 and I will return one year later,'' she says. “The purpose is to do volunteer work through Conserve Africa. I am happiest when I am giving back to people.''

Through a website connected with the charity, Connolly will generate sponsorship for her trip and the projects she will work on.

“As a girl, I always dreamt of touring around Africa,'' she says. “If the accident had not happened, I probably would never have been given the chance to achieve that dream. I know this journey is my mission in life.''

And as Connolly talks passionately about her forthcoming African adventure, her past swimming glories seem to fade into insignificance.

To follow Tamin's progress, log on to www.africatrip.synthasite.com