Chronicle Editor. . . swimmers on track in their build-up for next year’s event
Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter—
AS Zimbabwe prepares to host the 2017 CANA Zone IV Swimming and Waterpolo Championships, the Zimbabwe Aquatic Union is confident they are on the right track with most of their swimmers at the ongoing African Union Sports Council Region Five Under-20 Youth Games posting good results.Zimbabwe are going to host the regional championships from February 16 to 19 in Bulawayo.
ZAU president, Mary Kloppers, reckons that the results coming for the AUSC Region Five Games are an indication their swimmers are on track in their build-up for next year’s event.
“We hosted in 2007. There are 14 countries in the zone and we are hosting it again.
“We are incorporating with waterpolo. We have had waterpolo championships twice but we are putting it together with swimming (for the first time) in line with international competitions.
“We have got swimmers in Angola, they are really doing well. We have got quite a few medals. I think it’s been going very well, just looking at the results swimmers are achieving in Angola we are in the right track because we are hosting in February. We are putting an extra effort with our swimmers,” said Kloppers.
Zimbabwe claimed six medals on the opening day of the swimming competition. They got three silver medals coming from the 4x100m freestyle girls relay, 4x100m freestyle boys relay and the 4x100m mixed relay.
Devyn Leask got bronze in the girls 200m freestyle as well as Robyn Lee in the girls 200m butterfly and Chase Onorati in the boys 100m freestyle.
On Day Two they picked three more bronze through Onorati in the boys 200m freestyle, Leask in the 50m and Lee got the final individual medal of the day.
Kloppers said they will take advantage of being at home and field a bigger team for the championships in February.
“The host country is allowed to enter two teams, an A and a B team. So we expect to have around 50 swimmers probably on the 14s, 15s and 16s (age-groups). Then we have got Robyn Lee who is coming from Australia for the Open age-group, that’s 17 and over.
“James Lawson is coming. So we have got some big names coming. He is training in Pretoria, he has just been to the World Short-Course in Canada,” said Kloppers.
The National Senior Championships, which are usually held in February, have been moved to January to accommodate the Zone IV championships.
The other major competitions lined up for next year include the African Junior Championships in March and the World Championships in July.
The ZAU president said they are contend with the way things have been going so far since the season started.
“I am happy with our swimmers (at the AUSC Region Five Games), we expected those results from the swimmers. They are the exact swimmers we expect to perform well for us at the Zone IV. Some of them will be going for the World Championships, so they are in the right track.
“Our swimmers have performed very well. So I am happy the coaches have done well and kept results coming. National and provincial records have been broken and that shows there have been an improvement,” said Klopers.
Zimbabwe will be hosting the CANA Zone IV Championships for the second time, having hosted the same event in 2007.
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