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- Lara van Niekerk is set to have surgery on a heel injury she's been carrying for most of her career on her return to SA.
- The heel problem, which affected her starts, has put her outstanding Commonwealth Games achievements into greater perspective.
- The 19-year-old won the 50m and 100m breaststroke titles in Birmingham.
In a kind of Ripley's Believe It or Not episode, Lara van Niekerk managed her outstanding Commonwealth Games achievements while nursing a heel injury that she's carried for most of her career.
The 19-year-old double gold medallist stole the show and South African hearts in Birmingham and did it all with a niggling heel problem that's bugged since the start.
It's something that also affects her starts from the blocks, which could pose a scary prospect for her future opponents.
READ | A star is born: Lara van Niekerk is SA's new golden girl as Le Clos passes torch
Van Niekerk's coach Eugene da Ponte told Sport24 that she would try to qualify for the FINA Short Course World Championships by competing at the SA National Short Course Invitational Championships at the Seals Swim Centre, Pietermaritzburg, starting on 11 August.
After that, she would go under the knife before rehabilitating back in time to compete again in Melbourne in December.
"We'll go straight into the SA Short Course Championships next weekend in Pietermaritzburg to try to qualify for the Short Course World Championships," said Da Ponte.
"Then, she's going to have over three weeks off because she's having surgery just after we get back.
"She's had a bit of an issue with her heel since she was a little girl.
"And because of the heel, we haven't been able to do a lot of things for training in terms of jumping and the explosiveness of starts, which is why she struggles a little bit on her starts.
"We've found an orthopaedic surgeon who is going to fix that up for us, so she'll be out of the pool for three weeks.
"And within six weeks, she should be pretty close to full strength in terms of training sessions and load.
"And we should be able to get her ready for the Short Course World Championships at the end of the year."
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The injury has put into perspective the incredible achievements Van Niekerk managed in the UK by winning the 50m and 100m breaststroke titles in which she beat Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker.
Schoenmaker took silver in the latter, with the pair embracing each other like long-lost siblings, tears, hugs and all, at the podium.
After her breakthrough exploits, the focus will promptly shift from Schoenmaker to Van Niekerk, making her the woman to beat in the pool.
It's a target on her back that her coach pre-empted once they reached world-class level.
"It will be a bit impossible to keep the target off her back now," Da Ponte said.
"It's something we've always known was going to happen when we get to a certain level. The higher you move up in the ranks, the more people try to target you and want to beat you.
"It's a bit of a point of pride to try to stay there as long as possible. But it does become tougher.
"In terms of keeping her grounded ... just don't change anything. We'll still train the same way and act the same way towards people and each other.
"She goes back to all her club mates and teammates back home, who have grown up with her, so it's back to a normal way of life."
