Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lesotho’s professional swimming Athlete Jonathan Molapo’s desire is to see swimming evolve from being regarded as a lifesaving technique only to becoming one of the most recognized sport
codes in the country. The 21-year-old Molapo told Informative Sport on Wednesday that he is passionate about swimming and is interested in pursuing it as a career provided there are sponsorships
opportunities. “I started swimming at the age of 13; I practiced it at community dams and rivers and I became an expert in 2019 after I met Coach Refiloe Chopo at the Lehakoe Recreational Center.
The passion for swimming grew in me from that time and I realized that there are few people who partake in this activity because most people have an irrational fear of water.
As a result, I decided to work on my talent in order for me to be among the top swimmers in the country,” he explained. Molapo stated that to enhance his
performance, he has exercised his knowledge and skills through joining various Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), Special Operating Unit (SOU) and the Lesotho
Defence Force (LDF) team missions and lend a helping hand in the rescue of two drowned bodies at Mohokare river during the heavy rainfalls and he was also trained and
awarded a basic lifesaving certificate in swimming by the Royal Lesotho Lifesaving Association in 2020. When asked about which type of swimming stroke he is good at, how many meters and the pace clock he takes to swim,
Molapo said it depends on how long the dam or pool is because he completes a 23 meters pool in less than 2 minutes in about 4 laps. “I am now trained by Coach Khosana
Thamae, and I am good at backstrokes and butterfly swimming, also, I like long distances because I do outstandingly good on them,” he said. He added that
currently, he is working on the other types to increase his performance. Molapo informed that his biggest dream and role is to ensure that swimming sport is recognized in the country
like other sports codes such as football and other athletics games and he desires to be part of the National Olympics. “I would like to encourage the upcoming swimming athletes to swim safely, be devoted, attend swimming lessons,
normalize being around swimming experts, find assistance when swimming in the community rivers and dams to avoid being at risk of drowning, so that we can have a team of swimmers in the near future, which will participate in the national and international tournaments,” he stated.
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