adminSimba Dube Sports Reporter
SOUTH Africa-based swimmer Peter Wetzlar will represent Zimbabwe at the 5th edition of the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships which are set for 25 to 30 August in Singapore.
The 18-year-old Peter Wetzlar together with Robyn Lee qualified for the global swimming fiesta after meeting qualified standards, at an open swimming tournament which was held in April in South Africa. However, Lee has since been ruled out of the Championships due to a shoulder injury.
The FINA World Junior Championships are held every two years, and this year’s edition will also be used as a ticket for the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the previous edition of the championships Peter was the nation’s best performer posting two personal bests in the 100-metre butterfly with a time of 55,9 seconds and the 100-metre backstroke in 57,3 seconds.
Peter’s coach Debbie Wetzlar said preparations for biennial event were at an advanced stage with the main target being a semi-final berth.
“He (Peter) has been training very hard and has also been to Italy and Spain in preparation for the Championships, at this stage the preparations are at the final level. The main aim is to make it to the semi-finals,” said Debbie Wetzlar.
Zimbabwe Swimming Board chairperson Lorna Riley said that the country would be represented by one athlete at the global swimming showpiece as the sport was still at grassroots level.
Riley added that they were constrained by unavailability of water work and heated pools during their endeavour to conduct swimming programmes.
“We are certainly in a learner phase of the high level swimming, and as we are developing the numbers will also increase. Conducting swimming courses is very difficult at this time of the year since swimmers require water work and heated pools which are not readily available,” said Riley.
Peter will only have few days rest after the championships before heading to Congo Brazaville for the African Games alongside Sean Gunn, Chad Idensohn, James Lawson, Kirsty Coventry and Tarryn Rennie.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean swimmer James Lawson on Wednesday paddled to a personal best, national record time of 28,85seconds in the men’s 50m breaststroke although it was not enough for him to progress to the semi-finals from his heat at the Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Online Reporter