NESER SINGS FOR HIS S'PORE SUPPER

S. African water polo player crowdfunds his way here, swimming 42km to raise 42k rand

- David Lee

While the top water polo nations' expenses for the July 1-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships (WCH) are taken care of by their respective associations, the South African men's team had to pay their own way to Singapore.

In particular, Matthew Neser had to traverse three continents and "swim a marathon" to compete at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

After scoring once in his team's 27-4 loss to Australia in the 13th-16th semi-finals on July 18, the 23-year-old told The Straits Times: "We had to pay 38,000 rand (S$2,800) each, which was quite a lot, so I created the crowdfunding page in May to cover the costs of travel, accommodation and tournament fees.

"As someone who has always believed in earning everything through hard work, I never imagined I'd be in a position to ask for help like this. But, with such short notice and limited resources, I reached out to my community, friends and supporters as a last resort."

Committing to swim one metre for every rand raised, Neser received 42,000 rand and swam 42km in an outdoor pool at his club in Barcelona.

Beyond the fund-raising, he has come a long way since he started playing water polo at age nine after being influenced by his older brothers Dylan and Jamie.