Levin bowled over by Commonwealth Games medal

Seventy-year-old Johannesburg lawn bowler, Desiree Levin, couldn’t walk 10 years ago, so winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games on 3 August was “beyond her wildest dreams”.

Having also exceeded her expectations by bagging bronze at the World Championships Para Bowls in 2015, this Killarney Bowls Club member didn’t envision winning a medal when she and Victoria van der Merwe paired up for the first time ahead of their opening game against England in this year’s Commonwealth Games.

The duo’s 17-13 victory against the hosts was followed by wins against New Zealand and eventual champions Scotland before defeat against Australia in the semi-final resulted in them competing for bronze.

During the games, Levin could be heard giving words of encouragement to Van der Merwe amidst what she describes as “roaring applause” from the crowd.

“It’s been a great experience,” says Levin, who celebrated becoming a septuagenarian on 8 August. “The Commonwealth Games is just an event of a different magnitude. It’s amazing what it has taken to pull this event off.”

Having started playing para lawn bowls in 2014, Levin has won the South African Disability National Championship in the sport every year since then, “so I was pretty much an automatic selection for South Africa at the games”, says the top-ranking gold medallist in national disability bowls for South Africa.

Leading up to the games, Levin and Van der Merwe didn’t realise how high the standard of the opposition would be. “Of the top-six countries invited to participate in the Commonwealth Games para lawn bowls, only five could field a team,” says Levin, an alumnus of Carmel College in Durban and the University of Natal. “Australia was young and very strong, while Scotland was older but also strong. England had the whole of England behind them, with the one lady being quite young and the other around my age. New Zealand had two middle-aged ladies.”

When Levin was quite young, she started playing bowls as an able-bodied player. “I watched my parents always playing on a Sunday at a Jewish club and eventually tried playing bowls myself when I was allowed to,” she recalls. “In those days, you couldn’t start too young, but when I was old enough, I did. I played for only one year and then raised my family before starting again in 2001.”

In 2009, Levin was paralysed after not fully recovering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome. “I ended up with quite a lot of problems, especially with balance. That’s what made me a para person.”

Having previously played provincial table tennis, squash, and golf, she found herself having to play lawn bowls while balancing against a wheelchair.

She says paraplegia was the greatest thing that ever happened to her. “It gave me a new dimension in life, it gave me new aspirations, it introduced me to a new concept. Wow, it has opened my eyes enormously.”

Recalling how she came to mentor para lawn bowler Mandy Latimore, chosen as a reserve for South Africa at the Commonwealth Games, Levin says, “I was told by somebody that she was an incredible activist for sport, having been paralysed herself, and she had apparently played a little bit of bowls during her rehabilitation. About six years ago, I phoned her and said, ‘Why don’t you come and play? I’ll teach you.’ That’s how she started playing seriously.”

Lawn bowls used to be one of the top spots in South Africa, but it has diminished for various reasons, says Levin. “Maybe because of the age bracket, immigration, and people simply not being able to get around to the clubs anymore. Now, we have started a whole new young dimension in bowls with an under 15, under 20, and under 30 national team. It’s our time to rebuild the sport.”

Although Levin thought that her bowling would dwindle in her 70s, she says there’s “a lot on the table”.

“I’ve been selected to play in the South African able-bodied masters, so that’s going to be a tough weekend for me when I get back to the country. In March next year, there’s an invitation team of para bowlers going to Australia for what they call the Australian Challenge.”

The World Bowls Championships will be staged in August and September 2023. “In 2024, we have the World Bowls Championships for para bowlers in Gauteng, so there’s quite a lot on the cards for the next two years. Hopefully, I’ll be well enough and good enough to participate.”

Asked what she likes about lawn bowls, Levin says, “Of all the sports I’ve played, and I have played many at provincial level, this is the most challenging. You really have to come to terms with who you are, the conditions, and the crowd. You need a strong mind to stay focused.”

She encourages people to try the sport, saying, “It’s a wonderful outing and a wonderful way for people who have disabilities to see another side of the world. It just gives you a different attitude to who and where you are.”

She’s done a lot of work for disability in South Africa. “I initiated the Rainbow Trips, a big competition to raise funds in South Africa. It grew from 35 participants to 222 in five years, during which time we also raised a lot of funds for disability.”