Born from the volunteer lifeguard movement, today lifesaving has evolved to include high intensity sport events, while keeping the purpose of saving lives and making a difference, waves meet willpower, and every athlete’s race echoes with real-world scenarios. Lifesaving is truly a sport with purpose! Three international tours in under a year. Three captain’s armbands., and a season that almost didn’t happen. For South African lifesaving champion Kendra du Toit, 2025 was supposed to be the year she defended her Commonwealth title in her signature event — the 100m weighted manikin haul. But a fractured spine changed everything. Suddenly, the athlete known for racing against waves and time found herself battling pain, doubt, and the quiet stillness of recovery.
In this episode, Kendra opens up about the long road back, from the heartbreak of watching races go on without her, to rediscovering her purpose beyond the podium. We explore the heart of rescue sport, a discipline born from real-world rescues where every race represents saving a life. Kendra opens up about the mental toll of recovery — the quiet struggle of watching her Commonwealth dreams hang in the balance and rediscovering who she was beyond the competition lane. As captain, she reflects on what truly unfolded at the Commonwealth Games this year, the cheers form the vibe South Africans in the crowd, the splashes, and the stillness that followed when she didn’t make the final. Though her contribution looked different this time, her pride ran deep. In that difference, she found a new kind of strength and a renewed sense of purpose, a way to lead and a pride that is deep.
When the moment finally came, it was electric. Kendra stood shoulder to shoulder with her teammates as the South African women stormed to gold in the rescue relay and silver in the 4x25m manikin carry, breaking a national record and igniting pride that rippled far beyond the pool.
For Kendra du Toit, the victory carried even deeper meaning. Her journey in lifesaving has always gone beyond the stopwatch, she’s as devoted to saving lives as she is to winning races. Through her work in drowning prevention programs, swim schools, and outreach to under-resourced communities, she channels her passion into purpose, ensuring more people not only learn to swim but to live safely around water.
This win was more than a finish line. It was proof that even after the hardest season, purpose always rises to the surface.