Council says swimming should be for everyone

 Malawi National Council of Sports chief executive officer Henry Kamata says swimming as a sport should be for every Malawian and not only for the elite alone.

He said this on Saturday after the inaugural Open Water Malawi Schools Swimming Championship finals which Sports Council sponsored to the tune of K22 million at Sunbird Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi.

He said: “It is high time we stopped believing that swimming is only for the elite in the society. We have a big lake that covers the length of our country yet we underutilise it when it comes to making swimming a competitive sport among the locals.

“Lake Malawi is a gift that we need to fully utilise through swimming and tourism.”

Patson Chirwa and Bertha Muyeya won the one-kilometre race in the respective boys and girls’ categories of the championship.

This was the longest distance during the competition and the two proved to be the best among swimmers aged 15 and above.

Seventeen-year-old Chirwa from Nkhata Bay crossed the finishing line in 19:37 minutes, 19 seconds better than his runner-up David Khomba from Karonga and a minute ahead of third-placed Blessings Makwinja from Mangochi.

“This is the first time I have won a national race and I am very happy to have made it. My eyes are now set on making the country proud on the international stage,” Chirwa said.

In the girls’ section, 16-year-old Muyeya from Nkhotakota won gold in 15:33 minutes. Febbie Mkambula from Likoma took silver in 15:45 while Mercy Kawalika from Nkhotakota claimed bronze in 17:17.

Ephraim Themba from Likoma Island triumphed in the Under-14 boys’ 500-metre race followed by Rumphi swimmers Niti Harawa on second and Wongani Chamwaza on third.

Charity Bizeki from Likoma excelled in the girls’ section whereas Victoria Longwe from Nkhata Bay and Nisha Saidi from Mangochi settled for silver and bronze, respectively.

Seven lakeshore districts of Nkhata Bay, Likoma, Karonga, Rumphi, Nkhotakota, Salima and Mangochi ushered in their best five swimmers, three boys and two girls, to the national finals that the World Aquatics Federation expert Cedric Finch supervised.

Malawi Schools Sports Association president Blackson Malamula said they were delighted to have produced the first open water swimming national champions, who might carry Malawi’s flag at international events.

Malawi Aquatic Union general secretary Beatrice Makwenda said they also used the championships to assess the 20 coaches that were trained with support from Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC).

She said: “They have demonstrated the capacity to impart the knowledge and skills learnt to the young swimmers. It was pleasing to witness a demonstration of other strokes other than freestyle during the competition.

“This is testament that the coaches are ready to move to the next level-one for certification.”