Zimbabwe: Harare secured the winning position in the National Senior Swimming Championships that was held from Feb 12 to 20, 2024, at Harare’s Les Brown Pool. The championship is set to be a thrilling spectacle of aquatic prowess including almost all provinces of Africa.
The swimmers have secured positive performances in various events. At the championship, Harare was crowned as champions. The nation was the host and scored 3,266 points.
Notably, Harare had more swimmers compared to the rest of the provinces and has dominated the competition, over the years. However, the Bulawayo team gave them tough competition, who have also produced several good swimmers, other than Harare.
After, Harare, Bulawayo was placed second with 1,857 points and Mashonaland Districts was placed third with 614 points.
Captain of the Harare province team Vhenekai Dhemba received the medal and said they have worked hard as a team.
She expressed that it’s very good for us to have done this. “I am very proud of my team because a lot of them have been training very hard for this competition,” said the captain.
Dhemba said, “My performance was quite good, I think. I have been very close to all my personal bests, which I am very proud of.”
Out of the five-day competition, Harare’s outstanding swimmers included Neema Bhulabhai, who was placed first in the Girl’s 13-year-old age group.
Another swimmer, Alexis Johnsen placed at the top in the category of Girls’ 14-year-old, whereas Tarirai Madamombe and Anje Van also placed first in the category of Boys 16-year-old and Girls 17-year-old and over age groups.
Reportedly, Bulawayo has performed well in most of the relay events. Whereas, Jayden De Swardt was placed among the top swimmers who rose to the occasion.
De Swardt bagged 10 gold medals, one bronze and one silver and was ranked first in the Boys 17 and over age group.
On his achievement, Swardt said, “I have got a lot of personal bests and good times and I managed to get three qualifying times for the South African Seniors gala in April.
Moreover, Mashonaland Country Districts team manager Louise Arnold was also happy with the outcome and said, “I think my team performance has been amazing. We had 17 swimmers in this whole gala and we still managed to come third. So, I think that’s a huge achievement.”
Matabeleland South was placed fourth and Midlands was placed fifth. Followed by the Gaborone Aquatics Club which was placed sixth, Crocs seventh and Matabeleland North eighth.