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AT least 100 swimmers are expected to converge at Les Brown swimming pool today for the Mashonaland Junior Championships. The two-day event is slated for today and tomorrow with participants between the age of nine and 12 competing. The championships will see the usual clubs – Spartans, Sharks, Pirates, Dorado, Highlands and defending champions Harare Otters – fighting for honours in 54 events.
Mashonaland Swimming Board chairperson, Niroshia Abdulla, said the competition will be the last for the juniors in Mashonaland before the national junior championships.
“It’s the usual clubs that compete for the senior championships, Otters, Highlands, Sharks, Spartans, Dorado and Pirates. We are looking at probably 100 swimmers.
“There is the junior nationals which will be in Bulawayo but also remember some of these children will be competing in the senior nationals so technically this will be the last event for Mashonaland juniors,” said Abdulla.
Abdulla said they are happy with the way the season has progressed with a number of new swimmers coming on board.
“The season had been good, we had a lot of new swimmers signing up, young and very talented. We were worried that swimming was taking a backslide.
“I think the junior competition will be exciting this weekend. There are a lot of good junior swimmers.
“It’s a total of 54 events and obviously we will be doing all strokes – backstroke, breast-stroke, butterfly, freestyle and then the relays,” said Abdulla.
Harare Otters are the defending champions having dominated most of the events with the likes of Bruce Chiang and Nomvula Mjimba winning most of the medals to help their side finish on top of the tables.
However, Chiang have since moved to Sharks.
Otters have won the Mashonaland Junior championships three times in a row since 2011 and will be out to defend their title while last year’s runners-up Spartans will be hoping to turn the tables this year.
Online Reporter