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Sports Reporter
YOUTHFUL Zimbabwe swimmer Donata Katai made history when she took to the pool today for the women’s 100m backstroke at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
The 17-year-old athlete has become the first black swimmer to represent the country at the Olympics since Independence.
She swam to her personal best time of 1:02.03, finishing first in Heat One on her Olympic Games debut and earning plaudits in the process.
Katai, who was Zimbabwe’s flagbearer alongside rower Peter Purcell-Gilpin at Friday’s opening ceremony, has won African youth titles and also broke youth records once held by two-time Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry; the country’s most successful swimmer and Africa’s most decorated Olympian.
The youthful swimmer was a gold medallist in the 50m and 100m backstroke at the 2019 African Junior Championships in Tunisia.
She also broke Coventry’s long-standing 100m backstroke national youth record that same year.
Online Reporter