WINDHOEK – The Confederation Africaine De Nation Amateur (CANA) Zone IV Swimming Championships kicked off in Windhoek on Friday – featuring some of the continent’s top aquatics talent.

Apart from hosts Namibia, the 11 Zone IV nations also participating are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe whilst the federation has also invited Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania from Zone III, bringing the total to over 450 athletes in action. The five-day championships began with the swimming section of the competition on Saturday at the Olympia swimming pool, followed by the open water events at Oanob Dam near Rehoboth yesterday whilst the water polo starts this morning, at the Katutura/Western Suburbs swimming pool.

The CANA Zone IV Championships was introduced in 2000 and was originally called the Sub-Saharan Competition. 
However, in 2009 the event was renamed the CANA Zone III and IV Invitational Swimming Competition in 2013, and in accordance with the African Union Sports Council Region V Strategy and Directives, it became the CANA Zone IV Swimming Championships.

The competition is open to athletes 11 years and over and this year will also double as an official qualification event for the 18th FINA World Championships, to be staged in Gwangju, Korea from 12th to 28th July 2019.