Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S swimming team are intensifying preparations for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games with a week-long camp in South Africa.
The team, comprising of Alexis Johnsen, Daniella Viki, Kwandokuhle Nkomazana and Connor Grist, left for South Africa yesterday led by coach Lindsy Tudor-Cole.
The camp was facilitated by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee.
This comes after the announcement of Team Zimbabwe last month for the Youth Olympics due to take place from October 31 to November 13.
Zimbabwe are set to field an 11-member team that will compete in athletics, cycling, equestrian, judo, rowing, swimming and triathlon at the Games.
Tudor-Cole said they are on course with their training programme, and will be camped at a High-Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa.
“I think after the announcement it was a real positive boost for the athletes and now, they realise they are actually going and it’s real.
“The reality has set in so we have been working very hard,” said Tudor-Cole.
“So, we are down there for a week and then two weeks after that Alexis, Connor and Daniella travel to Botswana for the Zone IV where we will do some racing practice. But yeah, we have just been working very hard.”
Johnsen, Grist and Viki are part of the Zimbabwe Swimming team that will compete for honours at the Africa Aquatics Zone IV Championships in Gaborone, Botswana from September 2 to 5.
The regional championships feature some of the best young swimmers from the Southern African region.
“So, obviously, we have come out of the winter here in Zimbabwe.
“We have been training very hard but we haven’t had any racing practice. So, our last competition was in April, we do race practice at training but it’s not the same.
“So, our main purpose for Zone IV is just to get some race practice. Get them under race conditions and obviously we will be training through Zone IV.
“So, they are going to go into that meet in peak training, I am not worrying about the times, I just want them to get focused on the racing conditions and have that as more of a preparation for YOG,” said Tudor-Cole.
With the young swimmers excited to be heading to Dakar, and be part of history as the YOG will be held on the African continent for the first time, Tudor-Cole said it has been easy working with them.
“Obviously, we are stepping it up as the weeks are getting closer.
“But we are just doing what we always do and that’s just working hard.
“I think the consistency and hard work is what is going to take us to Dakar.
“They are very excited. I think they are also counting down the days now. So, they have been very positive, they are focused, they want this as much as any of us.”
Team Zimbabwe chef de mission Charmaine Chamboko revealed that because of the size of the team they are not likely to have a Team Zimbabwe camp but sport codes preparing individually.
“The athletes keep preparing in the country as well as going to their competitions outside of the country.
“So, because of the small contingent that we have, we are not likely to have a Team Zimbabwe camp. Maybe just a few get-to-know-each-other sessions between the athletes.
“But because of the various disciplines, and very few athletes in each discipline, we are allowing each discipline to prepare individually,” said Chamboko.
