WINDHOEK – The continent’s top aquatic talent produced a thrilling day four of swimming and water polo at the CANA Zone IV Championships in Windhoek, on Tuesday.
South Africa’s Lise Coetzee (14) won the 400m freestyle with a new championship record time of 4:37.97 ahead of team-mate Kelly-Ann Brown (14) in 4:40.45 and Botswana’s Maxine Egner (14) in 5:06.33.
Brown went on to win another silver, this time in the 100m butterfly, clocking 1:08.88 to SA’s Emma Kuhn’s golden 1:07.90 and Mauritius’ Ines Gebert’s 1:09.90.
Coetzee was not done for the day, also winning the 200m backstroke with a new championship record time of 2:26.88, with Kuhn taking the silver in 2:30.29 and Gebert the bronze in 2:38.57.
Kuhn managed a third silver medal in the 100m breaststroke in 1:17.69 ahead of Uganda’s Kirabo Namutebi in 1:22.37 adrift of Mauritius’ Alicia Kok Shun in 1:16.90, while Namutebi pulled out all stops to claim the 50m freestyle with a new championship record time of 27.74, tailed by Enger in 28.35 and Coetzee in 28.36.
Namibia’s Heleni Stergiadis (16) triumphed in her 400m freestyle race in 4:44.31, ahead of Seychelles’ Therese Soukup (15) in 4:52.85 and Mauritius’ Leah Foo Sem Fah (16) in 4:53.87.
She then won her 2nd silver medal in the 100m butterfly in 1:08.44 ahead of SA’s Megan Shepherd (15) in 1:09.88 and behind Zimbabwe’s Paige van der Westhuizen (15) in 1:07.31.
Stergiadis grabbed her second gold in the 200m backstroke with a new championship record time of 2:29.33, followed by SA’s Lwethu Mbatha (16) in 2:31.18 and Namibia’s Tiana Esslinger (15) in 2:31.80, while Shepherd climbed to the top in the 100m breaststroke, clocking a fast 1:19.04 ahead of Van der Westhuizen in 1:19.10 and SA’s Ashton Volkwyn in 1:19.86.
Van der Westhuizen was back in the water for the 50m freestyle and won bronze in 28.10 behind SA’s Kelsea Munro with a new championship record time of 26.95 and Zambia’s Mia Phiri in 27.89.
In the girls’ U12 100m butterfly, Zimbabwe’s Vhenekai Dhemba (12) topped the medal podium in 1:14.32 ahead of Namibia’s Ariana Naukosho (11) in 1:19.15 and Zimbabwe’s Matida Musere (12) in 1:19.22.
Dhemba also claimed two gold medals in the 100m breaststroke in 1:25.59 and the 50m freestyle in 30.18 and a silver in the 200m backstroke in 2:54.53 behind Zambia’s Jade Phiri (12) in 2:49.83 and ahead of Namibia’s Maja Brinkmann (11) in 2:54.62.
Silver and bronze in the breaststroke went to Mozambique’s Melyssa Rocha in 1:26.48 and the Seychelles’ Liliana de Speville Mason in 1:27.32. Namibia’s Danielle Mostert ended 2nd in the freestyle in 30.31 and Phiri third in 30.35.
Namibia’s Oliver Durand (11) won gold in the 100m breaststroke in 1:24.57, a silver in the 200m backstroke in 2:42.68 and a bronze in the 100m butterfly in 1:12.77 with the remaining medals in the butterfly going to Kenya’s Ivan Hart (12) in 1:06.87 and Mozambique’s Cleyton Munguambe (11) in 1:12.71 and in the backstroke to Mozambique’s Kaio Faftine (12) in 2:40.61 and Namibia’s Quinn Ellis (12) in 2:43.85.
Ellis and Uganda’s Shane Birungi won the silver and bronze in the 100m breaststroke in 1:24.63 and 1:24.71, respectively, while Ellis also managed a bronze in the 50m freestyle in 28.63 behind Mauritius’ Hugo L’Arrogant in a new championship record time of 27.26 and Kenya’s Hart in 27.96.
Namibia’s Jose Canjulo (13) bagged six medals, gold in the 200m backstroke in 2:20.83, gold in the 50m freestyle in 26.27, gold in the 50m freestyle in 24.30, silver in the 400m freestyle in 4:34.17, another silver in the 100m butterfly in 1:01.62 and a bronze in the 100m breaststroke in 1:10.48.
The gold in the 100m butterfly went to Mauritius’ Victor AH Yong (14) in a new championship record time of 1:00.89 and bronze to Namibia’s Mikah Burger (14) in 1:02.26. The gold and bronze in the 400m freestyle were claimed by the South African pair of Leshen Pillay and Kian Keylock in 4:29.95 and 4:37.86, respectively, while the silver and bronze in the 200m backstroke were won by Burger in 2:21.73 and Keylock in 2:24.57.
Keylock went two better in the 100m breaststroke, winning the race in 1:09.88, while Burger and Zimbabwe’s Cory Werrett took the bronze and silver in the 50m freestyle in 26.76 and 26.68, respectively.
SA’s Cameron Casali (16) walked away with the gold in the 200m backstroke in 2:17.64 ahead of Mauritius’ Ryan Kok Shun (16) in 2:18.80 and Botswana’s Andile Bekker (15) in 2:20.67 and later on won the bronze in the 100m breaststroke in 1:09.86 behind Mauritius’ Oliver Wong Chap Lan in 1:09.06 and team-mate Jakobus Terblanche in 1:09.84.
Kok Shun and the Seychelles’ Tyler Fred shared the silver in the 50m freestyle when they both finished in 25.36 with the gold in the event going to Zambia’s Shaquille Moosa in 25.32
Malawi’s Filipe Gomes (21) claimed the silver in the 400m freestyle in 4:24.35, with Botswana’s James Freeman (17) in first with a time of 4:13.95 and Seychelles’ Damien Payet (15) in third in 4:25.46, while Gomes also won a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke in 1:07.77 behind Namibia’s Ronan Wantenaar (18) in 1:05.83 and Botswana’s Adrian Robinson (18) in 1:05.88.
Angola’s Lia Ana Lima (17) won two gold medals – in the 100m butterfly in 1:06.20 and the 200m backstroke in 2:31.70 and finished the evening with a silver medal in the 50m freestyle in 29.26, while Uganda’s Avice Meya (24) took home the silver in the butterfly in 1:13.12 and the bronze in the freestyle in 29.94.
The gold in the 50m freestyle went the way of Namibia’s Zune Weber in 28.31, while the bronze in the 100m butterfly was claimed by Zimbabwe’s Ashley Makuwa (17) in 1:17.02 and the silver and bronze in the 200m backstroke went to Namibia’s Vicky Botha in 2:35.46 and Ju-Ane Oberholzer in 2:40.98.
In the 15-16 men’s 100m butterfly, Namibia’s Corne le Roux (16) finished first in 59.59, Angola’s Salvador Gordo (16) was second in 59.94 and SA’s Jivall Bodlall (16) third in 1:00.42, while the Over 17’s medal podium comprised of the Seychelles’ Mathieu Bachmann (22) in 57.12, Zimbabwe’s Quintin Tayali (17) in 59.23 and Angola’s Dabiel Francisco (19) in 59.39.
The men’s Over 17 200m backstroke title was claimed by Namibia’s Jureck Johannesson (18) in 2:30.32, followed by Zimbabwe’s Jordan Smith (17) in 2:33.63 and Namibia’s Jodave Cioccolanti (17) in 2:38.85, while the 100m breaststroke ladies’ gold went to Mauritius’ Tessa IP Hen Cheung in a new championship record time of 1:16.04 ahead of Zimbabwe’s Amy Doorman in 1:25.44 and Zambia’s Harleena Naidu in 1:26.07.
In the U14 mixed 400m medley relay, South Africa came out on top with a new championship record time of 4:28.11 ahead of Mauritius in 4:36.28 and Namibia in 4:38.64, while in the Over 15 race, South Africa was once again first with a new championship record time of 4:17.46, followed by Namibia in 4:18.77 and Mauritius in 4:24.42.
In the Masters competition, the 400m freestyle gold medals went to Namibia’s Sunel Badenhorst (36) in 6:32.76 and Namibia’s Paddy Murphy (57) in 5:44.17; while Badenhorst also won the 100m breaststroke gold in 1:44.29.
The gold and silver in the Over 45 age group 100m breaststroke went to Namibia’s Jane Samson (52) in 1:40.24 and Mozambique’s Ana Rosa Araujo (50) in 1:52.41, while Samson also won the 50m freestyle gold in 33.60 ahead of Araujo in 36.91.
In the 100m butterfly, Angola’s Carlos Alberto (26) was first in 1:07.24 and Namibia’s Jurie Badenhorst (41) second in 1:19.00, while Badenhorst won a gold in the 100m breaststroke in 1:24.78 ahead of Botswana’s Gibson Matlakala (37) and Gaolatlhe Matsapa (33) in 1:43.98 and 2:09.20.
Namibia’s Anel van der Vyver (27), Botswana’s Duduetsang Nnyenyiwa (29) and Lesego Nkoketsang (37) completed the 25-44 50m freestyle medal podium in 34.68, 53.47 and 1:03.06, respectively.