Denilson’s mother’s Olympic delight

THE Olympics are the pinnacle of every athlete’s sporting endeavours.

It is the World Cup of all sports brought to one city that would have put in a bid and won to play host.
This year’s Olympics are being hosted by the City of Paris in France.

Denilson Cyprianos, the youngest of the three swimming sensation brothers (Andy and Brendon), son to Nokuthula and the late Edmore, both former provincial board members, will be part of the seven-member Zimbabwe team for this year’s Olympics that start in Paris, France this Friday.

He is going to take part in swimming.
It is a historic moment for the family as two of his brothers, great swimmers locally and in Africa at some stage who earned college colours in the US, made a bid to compete at the Games at their prime. Despite their medal hauls whose count is over 70 each, they could not get the breakthrough to plunge into the pool with the likes of Michael Phelps a multi-medal winner for the United States of America at a global competition level.

An African Games medalist in Ghana early this year, Denilson is part of two swimmers in the Zimbabwe team with the other being Paige Van der Westhuizen.

On Monday evening, Zimpapers Sports Hub caught up with Nokuthula, the proud and happy mother of Zimbabwe’s swimming representative Denilson at their Khumalo home in Bulawayo, which was a hive of activity as Stingrays Swimming Club members went about their training as if there is a competition tomorrow.

The local season starts in September, swimming is serious business at Stingrays, a project with a heated pool crafted by the husband and wife team of Edmore and Nokuthula that has seen an improvement in the province’s performances nationally.

A second pool has since come about and houses Penguins in Malindela, Bulawayo.
Nokuthula, near tears, said as a mother she was happy to see her son compete in sport’s ultimate stage. She said her late husband and father to the boys would have been proud had he lived to this day.

“As a family, we are very proud. It’s been his dream, his dad’s dream and us as a family, swimming has been part of us as a family,” said Nokuthula who saw her husband shut football out almost two decades ago to start a new sporting life built around his boys, family and swimming.

She said they were proud of the youngest of the three boys’ achievement.
The boys have given the better part of their lives to the sport. It indeed was a sweet moment to hear that Denilson had been given the greenlight to represent his country at the Olympics, something that he always envisaged.

“It’s been his dream. It’s been mixed emotions, he has been through a lot, losing his dad who was his coach, it was not easy for him, he went through a difficult time, he managed to pick himself up, his dad would have been very proud,” said Nokuthula.

It was always Edmore’s wish that his boys grow up and flourish in a sport they had found comfort and came up with a platform to have a positive.

His eldest brother, Andy, congratulated his brother’s participation at the Olympics.
He said his achievement was something to celebrate in a four-year period that they had endured life without their father.