Chronicle Editor
Nkosilathi Sibanda, [email protected]
Bulawayo Amateur Swimming Association (Basa) swimmers were the biggest winners of the 2024 National Junior Championships which ended at the City Pool on Sunday.
It was a memorable event for Bulawayo swimmers in the pool that they are familiar with as they scooped the top team prize much to the jubilation of swimming enthusiasts who had come to rally behind them.
The competition which had swimmers from Harare, Mashonaland Country Districts (MCD), Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, Midlands and Basa, started on Friday.
Basa swimmers demonstrated exceptional skill, a testament that the future of swimming in Bulawayo and the country at large is bright.
Basa sealed the championships with an overall 1 469,5 points.
Harare province were second with 1 377, Midlands (674), Mashonaland Country Districts (370,5), Matabeleland South (196) and Matabeleland North (40).
The total number of points accumulated by all teams was 4 127.
Some of the medals for Basa came from Monalisa Sibanda (gold 10-year-old girls) 50-metre Long Course (LC) breaststroke which she finished in 48,67 second , Farai Matabeya (12-year-old girls gold) in a time of 43,95 seconds, Viwe Mkwananzi (girls 12-year-old gold) 50-metre breaststroke at a time of 44,78 seconds.
Amanda Ndebele scooped bronze in the 15-year-old girls’ 50-metre LC breaststroke at a time of 56,06 seconds. In the boys’ 10-year-olds’ 50-metre LC breaststroke, Jamela Madonko claimed gold with a time of 47,71 seconds while in the boys 12-year-olds’ 50 LC breaststroke, BJ J Nnam (gold) finished at 42,20, followed by Ben Jones (silver) at 45,18 seconds and Simphiwe Njenge (bronze) at 45,27 seconds.
Tumelo Mpofu also got gold in the boys 13-year-olds’ 50-metre LC breaststroke and was followed by another BASA swimmer, Nenyasha Chinocheka who claimed silver with a time of 47,23 gold.
In the girls 10-year-olds’ 100-metre freestyle event, Sibanda finished second and was followed by Jaynell Sibanda who won bronze medal.
Matabeya also won gold in the 12-year-old girls’ 100-metre LC freestyle while Rachel Ngwenya claimed silver.
In the same category for the 14-year-old girls, Mkwananzi won silver while Yalezwa Chiweshe of Matabeleland South won gold.
Ndebele (15-year-old girls) claimed a medal in the 100-metre LC freestyle as well as she won silver behind Thandeka Furusa of Harare who won gold.
Madonko won gold in the 10-year-old boys’ 100-metre LC freestyle event while Ranchengqian Qiao won gold in the 11-year-old boys’ category.
In the 12-year-olds’ category, Ben Jones claimed silver followed by Simphiwe Njenge who claimed bronze.
The 13-year-old boys’ 100-metre LC freestyle event saw Leroy Sibanda win gold while Chinocheka won bronze. – @NkosieLegend.
Online Reporter