Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
MATABELELAND Amateur Swimming Board (MASB) chairperson Bokani Dube is confident that her swimmers will excel at the National Senior Championships that started at Les Brown Swimming Pool in Harare on Wednesday.
MASB sent a “lean” 48-member squad for the five-day event that ends on Sunday. Team Matabeleland are competing against defending champions Mashonaland, Mashonaland Country District, Masvingo and Manicaland.
“We travelled with 48 swimmers, which to us is a lean squad considering that we had selected a 70-member squad for the national championships at last month’s Matabeleland Swimming Championships. It’s a small squad, but I’m confident that we will get the overall trophy because we have good swimmers, who I believe can post good times and win us medals,” said Dube.
Matabeleland came second in last year’s competition which was won by Mashonaland and will be hoping for better fortunes in this year’s edition.
Mashonaland dominated both the boys’ and girls’ events to amass a whooping 2 957 points compared to Matabeleland’s 2 074. Mashonaland Country Districts were a distant third with 190 points.
While the team for the CANA Zone IV Championships to be held in Namibia in February has already been selected, there are other major competitions lined-up for next year including the World Championships and the Junior Africa Championships set for August.
Swimmers will be out to give their best and possibly qualify for the South African Age-Group Junior Nationals and obviously the level galas, a Level Two and Level Three as well as the African Games, which will be held in September.
Some of Matabeleland’s top swimmers include Liam O’Hara, Denilson Cyprianos, Quintin Tayali, Chantel Querl, Rianna Rollo, Cory Werret and Sibusiso Sibanda among others. — @ZililoR
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