D-Day: Uganda start battling for points

Uganda will need a strong start to the Cana Zone III Swimming Championships that commences today at Kampala International School of Uganda (Kisu) - Bukoto.

The regional events offers Ugandan swimmers a chance to compete against their peers from other countries as those opportunities have been next to scarce in the last two years. Only a handful of swimmers had those chances, during the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic, at the; Olympics (two), Cana Grand Prix in South Africa (two), World Secondary School Games in Serbia (four) and Cana Junior and Senior Championships (seven) in Ghana this year.

Uganda, which finished second in the 5th edition in Nairobi in 2019, has therefore maximized the opportunity to field 90 swimmers in two teams; 44 in Team A and 46 in Team B, which will not score points but give athletes a chance to improve their personal bests.

The championship starts with the long distance 800m, where John Kafumbe and Mikka Kigundu start it off for the senior boys plus Freda Luzinda Nakafu for the girls - although her lone entry and the absence of any for Team B highlights the gaps Uganda has in the girls’ senior age group events.

Going all out

“I am ready to do my best because the coach has been pushing us really hard,” Nakafu said in the pre-event press conference on Tuesday.
For the 14 and under boys, Heer Usadadiya and Akram Lubega will be on show while Karimah Katemba and Rahmah Kalungi, who will be later tasked to dominate their 13-14 years and 12 and under age groups will also push for early team points as Uganda bids to win this championship for the first time since 2015. “I am not really going to compare myself to other swimmers but to how I have been performing in the past.
Overall, I am confident in our team because of the performances I saw from the National Championships last week,” Usadadiya said.

Team B will, meanwhile, field Natalie Lutalo and Khyati Deshpande for 14 and under girls’ 800m free plus Barack Otieno and Malcolm Nahamya for the junior boys plus Kami Walusimbi and Gabriel Nyangabyaki for the senior boys.

“I have been doing double sessions per day (to make up for time lost during Covid-19 lockdowns) and I am sure, I will give it my best,” Deshpande said. The sprints take over immediately after for the rest of the day. And Uganda’s senior boys are feeling bullish.

“We have a good and well balanced team in all styles. These are swimmers that do this at a high level in the region and it will be interesting to see how we measure against the Kenyans,” Samora Lumonya, who represents the 17 and over boys, said.

His brother Joshua, who went to Ghana in September, will swim with Kafumbe Amon others in the equally promising 15-16 years age group and feels he “performed well there and can do to the same in this championship.” 

Cana Zone III Champs

Day One - Swimming Events
Morning session
800m freestyle
50m breaststroke
100m backstroke
Afternoon session
Opening ceremony
200m medley relay
200m breaststroke
50m backstroke
200m mixed freestyle relay

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