By: Rodney Pienaar
Swimmers across the country congregated for the Bank Windhoek long course national championships which saw 117 participants impress at the Olympia swimming pool in Windhoek recently.
The championships were hosted by the Namibia Swimming Union, and included 98 different event courses.
After an intense competition, the overall championship titles were awarded to Ronan Wantenaar and Heleni Stergiadis who walked away with the Senior Victor and Victrix Ludorum trophies respectively.
The Namibian Swimming Academy’s Wantenaar recorded 3 532 Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) points while Dolphins’ Stergiadis logged 3 451 FINA points.
Wantenaar also won the Single Best Performance Trophy after he recorded the highest FINA points in one single event during the championships.
He received 603 FINA points for the Men’s 17 and Over 100 metre (m) Freestyle in a time of 55.60seconS.
Records were broken as swimmers put in their best performances.
José Canjulo broke the men’s under 13-14 200m Individual Medley (IM) in a time of 2:20:78 which overcame Mikah Burger’s record of 02:21:53 set in 2018.
Lilia Ellis, Emma Brinkmann, Ainoa Naukosho and Vitoria de Sousa from Dolphins A team, broke the Girls 8 and Under 200m Freestyle Relay record in a time of 2:54.87. The previous record stood for three years.
Mikah Burger, Jose Canjulo, Christopher de Jager and Brave Magongo from NSA smashed the Boys under 13-14 200m Freestyle Relay record in a time of 1:49.55. The previous record was set five years ago.
The same team also broke the Boys 13-14 200m Medley Relay record in a time of 2:01.23.
The previous record was set in 2018. Dolphins’ A team swimmers Quinn Ellis, Roche Brand, Oliver Durand and Henry Grant, broke the Boys 11-12 200m Medley Relay record in a time of 2:23.35. The previous record was set in 2009.
Another Dolphins A team, comprising André and Jurie Badenhorst, Naan Jiao and Ryan Steyn, broke the Boys 8 and Under 200m Freestyle Relay record in a time of 2:47.06. The previous record was set in 1986.
Swimmers from seven different clubs took part in the championship, four from Windhoek, one from Oranjemund and two from Swakopmund. The team trophy went to Dolphins Swimming club with 3858.50 points.
The much anticipated Bank Windhoek Long Course National Championships is the highlight of the Bank Windhoek Long Course Gala season. It similarly serves as the trials for the South African Junior Championships scheduled to take place in Durban, South Africa next month.
