GOOD OPENING DAY FOR KENYA AS 10 MEDALS ARE HAULED IN

By Sammy Kitula

The first day of the Africa Zone Three and Four Swimming Championships at the Kasarani Aquatic on Friday saw a flood of medals, as Kenya won 10 of the 38 medals on offer.

Braeburn School’s Gaurav Kotecha was the toast of the Kenyan team as he led from the buzzer to a scintillating finish ahead of Theodore Muthebwa and Nuwa Serunjogi, both of Uganda to bag the gold in a time of 41.95.

Muthebwa, who won silver had a time of 44.07, while his compatriot, Serunjogi was timed at 45.19 for the bronze.

This was the second time Kenya was winning gold in this annual event, after Sylvia Brunlehner broke the jinx two year ago. Expecting to turn 11 years in a month’s time, Kotecha was over the moon from his performance and vowed to destroy the waters in the remaining events.

"I’m proud at the positive start of the event and will need to do more and win in the remaining events, he said. "I have been training hard and these are my results."

This was Kotecha’s first gala in as many months, but that didn’t show and now he sets his eyes on a possible second gold when he competes in the 100m breaststroke on Sunday.

"That’s my aim, to break the national record as well as winning gold in the 100m breaststroke. It will be a very fulfilling moment for and my family," he added.

 

Two more left

In the second session, Kotecha picked up from where he’d left, to bag his second gold in the 100m backstroke in a time of 1.29.90.

"There are two more left," noted Kotecha, adding that he regarded winning the race as the perfect way to end the day

"You realise that you are strong as a team. We want to keep the overall title. We have come out, swam our best and we are pretty pleased about it."

The silver medals of the day went to among others, Danielle Awori in the girls’ under-11 50m breaststroke in a time of 40.55, Graham Walker (boys under 14 400 freestyle-4.53:67) and Fernandez Micah in the boys’ under-11 50m breaststroke. He clocked 38.12.

By the 14th event, Kenya were on 275 points a close second to Zimbabwe, who had 290.

In the girls’ 100m backstroke, Rebecca Kamau became the second Kenyan woman to win gold medal in this championship, when she finished her race in a time of 1.28.59, beating India’s Bora Ayusha into the second place in a time of 1.32.01.

Dylan Rosser meanwhile, was an unlikely winner in the boys’ 50m breaststroke as he took the gold medal in a race he did not seem to win at first.

The Zimbabwean swimmer wasted his opponents in the under14 category, before touching the slab after 32.80 seconds. In essence, had Rosser been competing for Kenya, he would have bettered Amar Shah’s time of 36.29, which he set in 1998 record he set in South Africa.

Darren Chan Chi Wah of Mauritius won silver, 1.55 seconds off the pace, while the bronze medal went to his compatriot Mathieu Young Tie Yang in a time of 34.83.

"One lives for such moments. I did not even think that I would finish in the top three, let alone win the gold," he said.

Although he missed the CANA record by five milliseconds, his elder brother Drew Rosser registered new times of 31.65 in the under-16 50m breaststroke category. Incidentally, it was his compatriot, Timothy Ferris, whose time of 31.80 he set on January 5, 2007 that was broken.

 

Selected results:

Boys’ under14 400m freestyle: Smith Carey (Zimbabwe-5.05:08), Boys’ 14 and under 400m freestyle: Shane Ah Siong (Mauritius), Girls’ 10 and under 50m breaststroke: Fathima Muinudeen (Botswana-43.22), Girls’ 11-12 years 50m breaststroke: Tilka Paljk (Zambia-38.83), Girls 17 and over 50m breaststroke: Daniela Lindemeier (Namibia-36.45).