If you have never heard of her, Tilka Paljk is a 24 year old Zambian swimmer who will represent the country at the 2021 Olympics. This year she was selected for the Forbes 30 under 30 for 2021 and is the first Zambian sportswoman to make the list. Tilka has a strong online and media presence with more than 10,000 followers between Facebook and Twitter. She has become a polarizing figure consistently speaking her mind and a willing advocate for the right causes. Beyond image however, is a truly magnificent person, who has an admirable dedication towards her goals and a confident yet humble mentality keeping her grounded. She personifies the principles of putting everything on the line for your passion, and I truly believe we’ve only seen the beginning. She gave me the honour of having a sitdown interview over the phone so I could find out more about the Olympics bound Athlete.
On Upbringing and Mental Health
When Tilka was born her family was based in Slovenia as her biological father had decided it would be better for health reasons. Her mother was a nurse born in Ndola and met her father, a missionary , at the Nangoma mission in Lusaka before deciding to leave the country. Her parents separated shortly after coming back and she did not end up seeing her father again until the age of 16. Her mother passed while Ms Paljk was just a teenager, an experience that nearly broke her and she became suicidal, having attempted multiple times. Her stepfather chose to become distant when her mother became ill, effectively abandoning her after her passing. Tilka says this led to a constant search for a father figure. She was being bullied at the time and the hell that life pushed her close to giving up everything. Despite these odds and adversity she kept herself going, relying solely on two promises: (1) a promise made to her brother, that she would not end up like others who have lost a parent , to never feel sorry for themselves and continue to strive to be great (2) to never give up on her love of swimming. And so she kept going, and sought help.
Throughout this chaotic period the one thing that Tilka could always control was her swimming, and she gave it everything she could. The sport became her medicine, no matter what happened she kept getting better, spending more time focusing on her craft and becoming one of the fiercest competitors in the country. At the age of 16 she was selected to represent Zambia at the World Championships, one the youngest swimmers in the country. By the age of 21 she won Athlete of the year and was already on her path to the olympics. She says having a strong support system and being willing to seek help changed her life. As a teenager she would purchase her own antidepressants and take herself to therapists who have helped her reflect and find peace. Her guardian in South Africa who had taken her in encouraged her to seek all the professional help she could as there isn’t the same stigma that many experience in Zambia. When asked to give advice she says: “To all those who feel like they are alone, I have been there, seek help and there is no limit to what you can achieve. It is never too late to help yourself.”
Swimming and The Olympics
Tilka began swimming more by a stroke of fate than anything else. Her mother had encouraged her to take up after school activity and she decided on swimming due to convenient timing (Additionally she had failed to keep up with her classmates in karate, who at that point were yellow belts). Eventually Tilka found that she had a talent in the sport and gained a love for competition. At the age of 17 she won a scholarship to the prestigious SPIRE academy to nurture her talent. To today her sporting accolades include: All Africa youth champion, Africa senior championships silver medalist and African Record, All Africa bronze medalist, CANA zone 3, 4 and 5 regional champion, 5x world championship participant, 2x commonwealth games participant and commonwealth games semi-finalist and Sportswoman of the year 2018 and 2019.
Success however, is often a blank screen. When I ask her how she is feeling about going to the olympics Tilka replies with a simple “I don’t know, it’s like I just haven’t processed it, everyone thinks I should be so happy but right now I don’t know”. Her words were not filled with fear nor was it arrogance towards her achievement. It was honesty, the honesty to understand the difficulty of the task ahead of her and balance the weight of her achievement. Few people know of the sacrifices Ms Paljk makes everyday to be able to do what she loves. Unlike Western swimmers who receive financial support of up to $40,000 (K800,000) for competing, she has a job which helps her pay for all of her coaches, equipment, training, gym and expensive supplements. She wakes up everyday at 4 am, trains for up to ten hours then goes to work. She then works until the evening before sleeping and does the same thing the next day. While she is lucky enough to receive some sponsorship it is nowhere near enough. She mentions the issue often but one thing it does not do is let it deter her from her dream. The option for comfort was there when she returned from the US, with Zambia only having competitions 4 times a year. But the competitor in her chose to be in South Africa, to be able to compete with the best. She now advocates for others who aren’t lucky enough to leave the country to find proper training. We need more Zambians like this , who are willing to step out of their comfort zone in this way to be able to prove themselves on the global stage.
On Forbes and Friends
“ I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support of my friends and family. Often they keep me going and as I tend to be too harsh on myself. When my manager told me about the list, I didn’t think I would even get beyond the first look.”
She received the call last Monday, a day that should have been a normal day like every other. On her way from work she received a call from the writers telling her to check her message. She was immediately overwhelmed with joy, screaming loudly. To Tilka this is one of her proudest moments. She describes the honour as an out of body experience, like she can no longer recognize herself in the mirror. Tilka became the first Zambian sportswoman to ever win this honour, and the country’s third honouree. She advises the strong women of today to alway be themselves, as “people will try and tell you what to wear, what you can say and how you should act. The only thing you should remember is you are a woman, you are great”. At the core she acknowledges good friendships have been her support system, constantly keeping her motivated. Tilka managed to find friends who understand her intense schedule and allow her to explore her passion. Even though she does not see them everyday they are still a big part of her success.
Another group of friends she is very thankful for is the Zambian twitter community (Zedtwitter) who have shown the swimmer an overflow of love. Tilka is a very outspoken personality and that is often attacked as this is against our societal norms.In the face of this she simply says : “If you say you hate me online, that’s fine, I love my haters”. Tilka’s anti patriarchal commentary and stance on feminism has recently been the cause of controversy . Men on social media are choosing to criticize her pictures, with some even trying to report her to the federation. It says more about the men on these pages who have spent more time trying to attack the olympian for what they don’t agree with but few will post in congratulation. Regardless of this, she gives thanks to everyone who has ever supported her and has a lot of love to give for everyone else as well. She will always stand up for herself and believe more women should stand up for herself.
Conclusion
What we have to remember when we look at our public figures / personalities is that there is always a person that is separate from the account. For all the thousands of fans Tilka has, the majority of her time is spent either competing or working towards funding her competitions. She is an example of how to chase your dreams and not give up no matter what hand you have been dealt. In my conversation with Tilka I noted many admirable qualities, an outspokenness, hard working drive, a notable humbleness. But the most significant is her resilience. Professional athletes need so much support due to the impact of constantly competing on mental health.Tilka made it, without this support whilst losing her mother, and with the absence of a father figure only really having her brother. She sought help from a young age, never gave up on her dream and jumped into the deep end when her environment was not competitive enough. In this country we need to learn to admire the greatness of those around us and try not to feel insecure by others’ success. Tilkas story should serve as an example to young girls everywhere, the future Zambian Forbes 30 under 30 who are chasing their dreams everyday now.