The Africa Aquatics and Open Water Swimming Championships are underway at the Olympia Swimming Pool in Windhoek, where only the Africa Aquatics activities are in action.

The second part of the event, the highly anticipated Open Water Swimming competition will commence on Sunday at Lake Oanob near Rehoboth.

There are 370 athletes from 15 Southern and two Central African nations participating. 

Day one of the championship, which began on Wednesday and will run through Sunday, saw a successful start with several Africa Aquatic Records being set. Kellen T Jones from South Africa broke the record in the 800metre (m) Long Course Freestyle for Boys 14 and under with a time of 9:13:33. 

Madison Bergh from Namibia also set a record for Girls 15 and over in the same event, clocking 9:53:77. 

In the 100m Long Course Backstroke, Rosalinda Matyayi from Namibia set a record in the Girls 13 to 14 category with a time of 1:08:90, while Scarlett le Roux from South Africa recorded 1:07:22 for the Girls 15-16 category. 

Team South Africa set a new record in the 4x100m Long Course Medley Relay for Girls 14 and under with a time of 4:43:77.

After day one, the Namibian men’s team was leading with 241 points, followed by South Africa in second place with 187 points. Zimbabwe and Mozambique shared third place with 151 points each. The Namibian women’s team also led with 268 points, with Zimbabwe in second (236 points) and South Africa in third (174 points). Day two, held yesterday, featured events such as the 200m Breaststroke, 200m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly, and 400m Freestyle.