The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
RISING swimming star, Tichatonga Makaya has expressed delight at taking part in his first CANA Africa Swimming Championships that are scheduled for Accra, Ghana next month.
The Stingrays Swimming Academy swimmer is the only athlete representing the country at the juniors meet while Denilson Cyprianos and Liam O’Hara will take part in the African Senior Championships with Onesimus Ngwenya and Danielle Kahuni featuring in the Open Water section at the continental event in Accra.
The 14th CANA African Championships incorporates the Senior and Junior Championships and will take place from 11 to 17 October. Makaya said he is excited to be heading to Ghana to represent the country and is upbeat about his performance despite a long layoff that saw sporting activities being halted in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Christian Brothers College pupil said he resumed training last month when the Sports and Recreation Commission announced the relaxation of the ban on sporting activities.
“I feel positive about the gala and I am looking forward to get better times in Accra while I also learn from other swimmers that will be coming from across the continent. I don’t think the layoff period will really have an impact on my performance because I was training alone and with the recent resumption of sport I went back into the pool and I feel I am fit enough to post good times in Accra. I’m also in a positive frame of mind, so I’m excited about the meet,” he said.
Makaya (15) last took part in a competitive gala in April at the South Africa Junior Nationals in April. In Accra, Makaya will take part in the freestyle and his favourite stroke, butterfly. Cyprianos heads into the Championships on the back of great performance at his base in the United States that saw him earn a top-five finish after all competition was completed at the CSCAA Open Water National Championships.
The former Christian Brother College pupil, who is on scholarship at Carson-Newman University, took fourth place in 5km race clocking a time of 1:00.57.3. The top five finish allowed Cyprianos to automatically qualify for the US Open Water National Championships scheduled April next year.
Ngwenya and Kahuni travel to Accra having been boosted by their top performances at the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Junior Cup Troutbeck that took place in Nyanga last weekend. The two swimmers used the Open Water Swim as preparation for the Ghana meet and emerged victorious in their respective categories.
In the 14-15 year Girls aged group, Kuhuni swam a time of 1 hour 19 minutes 11.87 clinching gold while Ngwenya, swimming in the boys section of the same age group, also took gold in a time of 1 hour 12 minutes 27.27.
