SWIMMER TILKA PALJK TALKS ABOUT WHY SHE LEFT ZAMBIA
For many of you that don’t know the reason I moved to South Africa, here it is:
In 2018 after I came back from a year in America where I was training, I spoke to the national team coach and told him my plan. He looked at me and said, “Tilka, you need to understand that I want to train you, I really do, but I can’t. We don’t have to infrastructure in Zambia to produce an Olympic athlete, your best bet would be going to South Africa and joining a team there were you will get training all year round.”
No, in Zambia we do not train all year round because we don’t have indoor/heated pools to swim in during the winter.
No, in Zambia we do not have a world class Olympic center to produce Olympians.
No, in Zambia we do not have the Olympic level coaching expertise.
So, if this was not the case in Zambia, if we had a world class Olympic center that will cater for world class athletes, I would be home right now.
This doesn’t only go for swimming, it goes for all sports. So before you say, “you disappointed us because you didn’t bring a medal” know that us athletes did our best, but the people incharge of giving us the infrastructure to be world class did not.
So before you tell me that I “ran away” or “left the country” or call me a traitor. Understand this.