SA man swims Crocodile River for WCup final ticket

Published Jul. 6, 2010 8:39 p.m. ET

foxsports

It's safe to say that Maurice Meyer would do just about anything to get a ticket to the World Cup final, and it's also safe to say that what he did isn't at all safe.

Meyer, a 32-year-old South African businessman from Nelspruit, swam 60 meters (yards) across the Crocodile River as part of contest to win a ticket to Sunday's World Cup final at Soccer City.

The contest, conducted by a radio station in Pretoria, asks people to do something that will impress the judges enough to win one ticket to the match. The winner is expected to be announced Thursday.

``I heard of the competition over the radio and I thought to myself, 'No man, these guys' stories are all lame,''' Meyer told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. ``So it just popped into my head.

``Luckily we did not see any crocodiles.''

The Crocodile River runs through the northeastern part of South Africa, near Nelspruit, and is known for being infested with the dangerous reptiles.

Meyer was accompanied by his wife Nicole for the swim, while his brother Gert stood by with a gun in case either were attacked.

But what was supposed to be a quick swim took about 20 minutes.

``It took us about three minutes to swim across the 25-to-30 meters, but we swam like crazy,'' Meyer said. ``On the way back it took a little bit longer as it was against a current. We had to get a rope to help us across.

``On the way back I probably spent about 15 minutes in the water,'' Meyer added, noting he believes his spouse may have been more scared than he was. ``My wife swam a lot faster than me.''

As for his security-minded brother, Meyer said he was there in case ``something happened.''

``I don't know if he was going to put me out of my misery or if he was going to shoot a crocodile or something,'' Meyer said.

Other contestants got parts of their bodies waxed in the radio station's studio and some even got tattoos - far safer activities.

What may make Meyer's attempt seem even more crazy is that he wasn't even a football supporter before the World Cup. But since attending a pair of matches in Nelspruit, he has changed his mind, cheering for both South Africa and Argentina before they were eliminated.

``I am usually more of a rugby fan,'' Meyer said. ``But I have become a football lover since the World Cup.''