WINDHOEK - An impressive total of six new championship records tumbled on the third day of the CANA Zone IV Swimming Championships underway in Windhoek, on Monday.
Hosts Namibia remain in second spot on the medals table tailed by Indian Ocean islanders Mauritius, in that sequence, with continental powerhouse South Africa topping the log standings.
In the girls’ U12 200m breaststroke, Zimbabwe’s Vhenekai Dhemba (12) claimed the gold in 3:12.94 ahead of Namibia’s Ariana Naukosho (11) in 3:13.20 and Mozambique’s Melyssa Rocha (12) in 3:14.20. Rocha and Dhemba also went on to win the gold and bronze medals in the 50m backstroke - clocking 35.68 and 36.92, respectively with Zambia’s Jade Phiri (12) taking silver in 35.97.
Dhemba won her 2nd and 3rd gold medals in the 200m freestyle in 2:29.83 and the 50m butterfly in 32.77, tailed by Phiri in 2:31.95 and Botswana’s Amaru Ditlhogo (12) in 2:32.19 in the freestyle race, Namibia’s Danielle Mostert (33.09) and Rocha (33.12) in the butterfly.
The medal podium for the boy’s U12 200m breaststroke consisted of Namibia’s Oliver Durand (11) in 2:59.00, compatriots Quinn Ellis (12) in 3:07.10 and Mauritius’ Hugo L’Arrogant (12) in 3:08.49.
The latter went two better bagging the gold in the 50m backstroke setting a new championship record time of 32.69 ahead of Kenya’s Ivan Hart in 33.01 and Ellis in 33.28.
In the U12 200m freestyle, Hart was fast out of the blocks winning gold with a new championship record time of 2:17.54 ahead of Mozambique’s Kaio Faftine (12) in 2:24.17, while Ellis claimed his 3rd medal of the day, a bronze in 2:24.92.
Hart continued to showcase his amazing talent, as he also went on to win the 50m butterfly with a new championship record time of 30.04, heeled by L’Arrogant in 30.97 and Faftine in 32.09.
The South African pair of Lise Coetzee (14) and Emma Kuhn (14) scooped gold and bronze medals in their respective 50m backstroke races in 32.36 and 33.07 while Uganda’s Kirabo Namutebi (14) walked away with the silver in 32.87.
Coetzee made it two gold medals by adding the 200m freestyle with a new championship record time of 2:10.21 ahead of team-mate Kelly-Ann Brown (14) in 2:11.22 and Botswana’s Maxine Egner (14) in 2:20.34,
Uganda’s Namutebi also won bronze in the 200m breaststroke in 3:07.30 behind Mauritius’ Alicia Kok Shun (14) in 2:51.29 and Mauritius’ Ines Gebert (14) in 2:58.87. She bettered that performance by winning gold in the 50m butterfly in 30.50 ahead of South Africa’s Kuhn (30.53) and Brown (31.41).
South Africa’s Cameron Casali (16) made his way to the medal podium on three occasions, winning gold in the 200m breaststroke in 2:33.32, 200m freestyle in 2:00.13 and 50m backstroke in 29.08, while team-mate Jakobus Terblanche (16) won silver in the breaststroke in 2:33.38 and bronze in the backstroke in 29.19.
Botswana’s Ethan Fischer (16) finished 3rd in the breaststroke with a time of 2:38.35; the silver in the 50m backstroke went to Seychelles’ Tyler Fred (16) in 29.18.
The remaining silver and bronze medals in the 200m freestyle were claimed by Mauritius’ Ryan Kok Shun (16) in 2:02.13 and Botswana’s Andile Bekker (15) in 2:02.32, in that order.
Fred finished off the day with a gold medal in the 50m butterfly, touching the wall in 27.16 with Namibia’s Corne le Roux (16) coming in second in 27.38 and Angola’s Salvador Gordo (16) third in 27.50.
The host nation’s Ronan Wantenaar (18) was over the moon after he was victorious in both the 200m breaststroke (2:28.51) and the 50m backstroke (28.10) with Malawi’s Filipe Gomes (21) in 2:29.75 and Botswana’s Adrian Robinson (18) in 2:31.43 finishing off the medal podium in the breaststroke race, while silver and bronze medals in the backstroke went to Seychelles’ Mathieu Bachmann (22) in 28.32 and Mauritius’ Gregory Anodin (19) in 29.33.
Gomes won two more silver medals, this time in the 200m freestyle in 2:00.67 and the 50m butterfly in 26.29. Namibia’s Ju-Ane Oberholzer (17) was more than happy with her two silver medals, finishing in 3:07.24 in the 200m breaststroke and 33.84 in the 50m backstroke.
Team-mate Zune Weber (17) claimed gold in the backstroke in 32.61 and Zimbabwe’s Claire Melrose (17) the bronze in 34.61 with the breaststroke gold going to Mauritius’ Tessa Hen Cheung (17) in 2:51.26 and the bronze to Zimbabwe’s Amy Doorman (17) in 3:07.91.
Weber won her 2nd medal, a bronze in the 50m butterfly in 32.23, behind Angola’s Lia Ana Lime (17) in 29.47 and Uganda’s Avice Meya (24) in 31.40.
Zimbabwe’s Paige van der Westhuizen (15) bagged a gold medal in the 200m freestyle – setting a new championship record time of 2:10.60 - just ahead of Namibia’s Heleni Stergiadis (16) in 2:13.21 and SA’s Megan Shepherd (15) in 2:14.14, in that sequence.
Shepherd and Stergiadis also won gold and silver medals in the 200m breaststroke in 2:49.91 and 2:52.72, respectively, while the bronze in that event went to SA’s Ashton Volkwyn (16) in 2:54.26 while Shepherd made it three by winning the bronze in the 50m butterfly in 30.93, behind SA’s Kelsea Munro (16) in 30.10 and Zambia’s Mia Phiri (15) in 29.59.
Munro was victorious in the 50m backstroke earlier in the day, winning the race with a new championship record time of 31.94 ahead of Phiri’s 32.05 and team-mate Lwethu Mbatha’s 32.06.
In the 13-14 age group 50m backstroke, Namibia’s Mikah Burger (14) won the gold in 29.98, followed by Mozambique’s Manuel Antonio Junior (14) in 30.52 and Mauritius’ Victor AH Yong (14) in 30.56, while Burger went back to win a bronze in the 200m freestyle, clocking 2:10.66 behind compatriot Jose Canjulo (13) in 2:03.37 and SA’s Leshen Pillay (14) in 2:03.67.
AH Yong returned to the water in the 50m butterfly, winning the gold in 27.78 ahead of Canjulo in 27.80 and Burger in 27.91, while the 13-14 200m breaststroke title went to SA’s Kian Keylock (13) in 2:32.82, followed by the Seychelles’ Joshua Miller (14) in 2:36.80 and Zimbabwe’s Cory Werrett (14) in 2:38.55.
In the girls’ U14 4 x 100m freestyle relays, South Africa claimed the gold in 4:14.62 ahead of Botswana in 4:26.90 and Namibia in 4:32.16, while the South African ladies’ from the Over 15 age group also won their race in 4:11.71, followed by Mauritius in 4:14.72 and Namibia in 4:16.21.
Namibia’s U14 boys’ team won the gold in their respective relay, clocking 4:00.25 ahead of South Africa in 4:08.09 and Mozambique in 4:11.18, while the winner in the Over 15 section was Mauritius in 3:39.06, followed by Botswana in 3:40.27 and South Africa in 3:45.14.
In the masters section, the 200m breaststroke women’s gold medals went to Namibia’s Sunel Badenhorst (36) in 3:41.88 and Mozambique’s Ana Rosa Araujo (50) in 4:02.56, while the men’s title was claimed by Botswana’s Lesego Mabote (32) in 5:42.21.
Araujo went on to win the 200m freestyle with a time of 3:29.79 and a silver medal in the 50m butterfly in 41.24 behind Namibia’s Jane Samson (52) in 37.18. The 25-44 50m butterfly gold was claimed by Botswana’s Duduetsang Nnyenyiwa (29) in 59.51.
Angola’s Carlos Alberto (26), Zambia’s Mulenga Kangololo (29) and Namibia’s Dentie Louw (35) made up the 50m backstroke medal podium in 30.63, 32.40 and 35.12, respectively, while Zambia’s Guy Phiri (49) and Angola’s Jorge Lima (50) won the gold and silver in their masters’ race in 33.94 and 45.05.
Louw also took to the water in the 200m freestyle, winning the race in 2:45.06, with Namibia’s Gabor Salamon (62) winning his respective masters’ freestyle in 2:47.86, while Alberto, Zambia’s Mmbalo Sililo (29) and Low rounded off the medal podium in the 50m butterfly in 28.33, 31.80 and 33.18, respectively.
Zambia’s Phiri also won the gold in the 50m butterfly in 32.74 ahead of Salamon in 34.16. The ladies’ backstroke gold was claimed by Namibia’s Anel van der Vyver (27) in 40.16 and the silver by Botswana’s Lesego Nkoketsang (37) in 2:06.96, with Van der Vyver also winning the 200m freestyle in 3:04.59 ahead of Badenhorst in 3:05.03