Xera Maharajh: 'More media exposure needed for women in sport'

JOHANNESBURG - South African artistic swimmer Xera Vegter Maharajh believes women in sport need greater media visibility to attract sponsorships and create development pathways that inspire the next generation of female athletes.

“As with most women’s sports, more media exposure is crucial to attract sponsorship and showcase the talent we have in this country. I'd love to see a stronger focus on a national development pathway. Creating more opportunities for talent identification at a young age and making clinics and introductory programmes accessible in communities across the country.”

Artistic swimming is a blend of acrobatics, swimming and dance, coordinated into a routine format and accompanied by music. Artistic swimmers require incredible strength, flexibility, grace, artistry, and long underwater endurance.

“The sport has become quite small and we need to inspire more young girls to participate. Securing more sponsorship is essential. This investment would fund more international competition exposure for top athletes and better support for coaches to gain world-class certifications. I think we need to build a structure where a young girl can see a future in artistic swimming, from learning the basics to competing on the world stage.”

There is no difference between synchronised swimming and artistic swimming, it’s just a name change. FINA changed the name in July 2017 in an attempt to rebrand the sport and boost its popularity, aligning it with similar disciplines such as gymnastics.

“During my childhood, I was constantly trying out new sports. I'd been a competitive swimmer since I was three and a gymnast since I was five. The catalyst for artistic swimming was when my family moved to the United States for a few months when I was 10. I arrived mid-season and couldn't join the swim team, but the artistic swimming club at the same pool invited me to try out. It was a natural fit.”

Maharajh went on to win all four events at her first competition three months later.

“That instant success showed me that this sport was the perfect fusion of my existing passions. I returned to South Africa and gradually phased out the other sports to focus entirely on artistic swimming by the time I graduated high school.”

The 21-year-old competed at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where she placed 26th in the solo freestyle and 33rd in the solo technical routine. She also competes in figures, solo technical, duet free and duet technical.

“It was an incredible honour to be back on the global stage representing South Africa, as the last World Championship I competed in was in 2022 in Budapest.

This competition was particularly meaningful for me, as I was navigating a shoulder injury and concussion recovery throughout the training cycle and event itself. Leading up to the championships, I had to change the music for both my routines due to licensing problems, leaving me with only three weeks to learn and perfect new routines. Given those challenges, being able to swim two routines with no failed elements or base marks felt like a significant personal victory. While I had aimed higher at the beginning of the season, the focus was on delivering a clean performance this time.”

Maharajh told Eyewitness News that after last year’s challenges, she is aiming for a season free of major injuries so she can consistently train and compete at her peak.

“I want to focus on increasing the difficulty of my routines and scoring higher on execution rather than just placements. I want to know that I'm swimming at a higher level than I have, both technically and artistically, while maintaining my academic trajectory.”