TSA upbeat as swimmers fly to Bulawayo
Tanzania’s up-and-coming swimmers in action during a past event. PHOTO | FILE
Dar es Salaam. Six Tanzanian swimmers depart for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe today ahead of the Cana Zone 4 championships.
The four-day championship starts on Thursday with Tanzania set to be represented by seven young swimmers.
The swimmers flying today are Rania Karume, Ophelie Konig, Jeanette Mugenburg, Alicia Horton, Christopher Fitzpatrick and Sanne Kleiveld. South Africa-based Isam Sepetu will link up with teammates later.
TSA secretary general Ramadhan Namkoveka said yesterday that the morale of the swimmers was very high and they were relishing the start of action in the Zimbabwe’s second largest city.
“The swimmers are in good shape, morale is high and it’s our expectation that they will go and do the country proud,” said Namkoveka.
“Most of these swimmers aren’t competing on international stage for the first time; they have that experience that’s why we are convinced that they will win medals there,” he added.
Namkoveka explained further that, by winning medals at the Zone 4 event, the Tanzanian swimmers would attain the world’s swimming federation (FINA) standard time A or B.
“We had a decent participation at the Cana Zone 3 in Kigali a few weeks ago. We want our representatives to build up on our Rwanda feat,” he said.
“By winning medals they can attain FINA’s standard time B or A, which is great ahead of forthcoming championships.” The Tanzanian swimmers are set to compete in four age group categories that include Under 12, 13–14, 15-16 and 17 and over in both swimming and waterpolo. Fourteen countries will participate in the event — Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, Angola, Mozambique and hosts, Zimbabwe.
