Online Reporter
Curtworth Masango
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOR Persy Shoko, a father who dreams of success for his children, that dream began shining unusually early.
His son, Unashe Shoko, displayed a remarkable and innate connection with water from the age of two.
While most children take to water for basic survival skills, Unashe took to it with the natural ease of a duck, showing a prowess that hinted at future competition.
By the time he was four years old, he had mastered all swimming strokes. His ability was so compelling that his family enrolled him in competitive swimming at just five years old.
Since that early start, Unashe’s journey has been marked by consistent achievement. His life in the pool, as described by his father, has been one of begging trophies.
He is now 10.
“The journey started when he was two years old. Our idea at the time was just limited to water safety and life skill. He progressed fast maybe because his brother was already swimming,” said Persy.
“At the age of four, he was able to swim all strokes. We enrolled him for competitive swimming at five. He was the youngest in his group at that time.
“He started swimming Harare Armature competitions at 7 and he scooped the overall 9 and under eggregate. He scooped the aggregate consecutively at 8 and at 9.”
Persy believes his son has shown great improvement over the years, a development he cited to his coach. He hopes his son will be an Olympian and is ready to support the dream.
“The progress has been phenomenal, a number of coaches from learn to swim up to club level, have had an input to his performance and we are grateful.
“We pray he remains consistent in the sport. We are working towards the Olympics at 15 years. He is still young, we will surely do our part with the help of structures around us like Zim Aquatics, Zim Swimming and HAS,” he said.
He added, “The schedule is quite hectic. He is in school and so we also expect good grades (which he is exceptional too). So balancing his schoolwork and sporting activities takes a lot of discipline and commitment. As a parent, it does take a lot of time off work to support.”
Persy Shoko’s prayer for his children’s success continues, now watching as one son’s extraordinary path unfolds, stroke by stroke, in swimming lanes far beyond his early years.
At the recently held Zimbabwe Swimming Junior National Championships in Mutare, Unashe dominated the pool, the 10-year-old was crowned the Under-10 National Champion, after a clean sweep taking home the gold medal in every single category he participated in.
