Retired Paralympic Champion Adds Another Midmar Mile to Her Legacy

Adri Visser made her mark again at the prestigious 2025 Midmar Mile, achieving a commendable third place in the women with physical disabilities division with a finish time of 55 minutes.

It was her 11th completion of the prestigious open water swimming event at Midmar Dam in Howick in KZN Midlands.

Visser, who retired from Paralympic swimming in 2016 with six African records, has forged a strong career inside of water and out. She is presently employed as the Casual Day Coordinator for Retailers at the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities with a master’s degree in Recreation Science.

In the past few months, Visser has also started adapting her sport even more, taking up paddling at Centurion Canoe Club. Adri Visser has carved herself a name as an SA Swimming Olympian, motivational speaker, and NWU Potch graduate.

Adri’s performance was part of a successful showing by athletes from Johannesburg’s Mandeville Para Swimming Club at the event. Other notable achievements included James Willers defending his title in the men’s physical disabilities category and Paralympic swimmer Alani Ferreira winning the Dea Slattery Memorial Trophy for best overall swimmer with a disability.

The Mandeville Para Swimming Club, established in 1997 in Bezuidenhout Valley, Johannesburg, serves as a Centre of Excellence for disability swimming. The club’s commitment to making swimming accessible to persons with disabilities continues to produce remarkable athletes like Visser, who exemplify the transformative power of adaptive sports.

Head coach Tadhg Slattery praised the swimmers’ dedication to training, noting that these performances would set the tone for the upcoming 2025 pool-based swimming season.