Africa-Press – Eswatini. The presence of parents has been the right tonic for top swimmer Luca Fraser, who has hoisted Eswatini flag after winning a gold medal at the Rwanda 8th Africa Aquatics Zone 3 Swimming Championships, where he was competing in the 50m breast event yesterday.
Another local swimmer Kendra McNamara came fourth in the girls’ category, which was their first event of the competition. The pair left the country on Sunday alongside their parents and Eswatini Swimming Association (ESA) President Welcome Nhlabatsi, who is their coach. The championships were preceded by the National Long Course Time Trials at the Moi International Sports Centre-Kasarani.
Nhlabatsi congratulated the swimmers for representing the country so well, saying the gold medal was an indication that the country was on the right path in terms of developing the sport and matching international standards.
“We were aiming to achieve podium finishes in the first event, and all thanks to Luca, he did it. I knew they were going to represent us so well, we will now be focusing on their next events,” he said.
The competition is organised by the Africa swimming governing body (CANA). it is among the
Commonwealth Games qualifying events. Participants compete in various categories, including freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly, while the distances are 50, 100, 200 and 400metres.
The 2023 edition has brought together other countries being Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, South Africa and the host nation Rwanda.
Sudan was initially confirmed as the host nation for the regional swimming competition, but due to persisting security concerns, CANA decided to shift it to Rwanda, who last hosted such an event in 2016.
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