Swimmers impress at World Juniors
What you need to know:
In her first time, competing in an Olympic size (50m pool), Tara Kisawuzi recorded Uganda's best women's 50m butterfly time and is also officially the second fastest Uganda female swimmer after going under 28 seconds in the 50m freestyle.
The quartet of Tara Naluwoza Kisawuzi, Swagiah Mubiru, Steve Magera and Joshua Lumonya return home this week from the World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru with a show of promise.
In her first time, competing in an Olympic size (50m pool), Kisawuzi recorded Uganda's best women's 50m butterfly time and is also officially the second fastest Uganda female swimmer after going under 28 seconds in the 50m freestyle.
Before her 50 fly on Thursday, she took part in the 4*100m mixed medley relay with the entire team where they recorded 4:51.43.
Kisawuzi's 32.40 and 39.19 butterfly splits in the respective front and back end 50m of that relay spelled worry ahead of her individual race the next day but her coach Erick Kisero insisted the relay was just part of the acclimatization process.
It indeed proved as much as the 14 year old went to record 28.97 in 50fly the next day - that is just 17 microseconds off Rebecca Ssengonzi's national record (28.80) made at the Africa Youth Games in 2018 but also less than a second off the Africa Junior record (27.98).
"From where we sit, beating both records is just a matter of time," Kisero said. By the way, Kisawuzi went to Lima thinking the fly record was the 29.49 that Ssengonzi managed at the All Africa Games in 2019 but some digging after the race unearthed the 28.80.
Unfortunately, we will never know what would have happened had the Altona swimmer known better.
On Saturday, Kisawuzi recorded 27.82 in the 50m freestyle to become only the second Ugandan girl after 17-year old Kirabo Namutebi, who now stops the clock at 26.01, to go under 28 seconds.
Coming close
Meanwhile, Magera, who was the busiest swimmer at the championships with four individual races, also went close to the men's 50m fly record.
Magera, 17, clocked 26.80 to get within range of Tendo Mukalazi's 26.62.
He later had 1:02.91 in the 100m butterfly, 30.37 in the 50m backstroke and 25.93 in the 50m freestyle.
Lumonya had a better freestyle show as he clocked 24.98 to join a group of men that has gone under 25 seconds in; Mukalazi, Jesse Ssengonzi, Fadhil Saleh, Adnan Kabuye and Ambala Atuhaire.
Lumonya, 17, was not done yet as he joined the same click in going under a minute for 100m free with a 57.22. He also had 33.42 in 50m breaststroke.
Mubiru was not near her personal bests but hopes to continue growing her international profile as this was only her second World event after the Secondary School Games in Normandy in May.
She had 38.91 and 1:28.65 in the 50m and 100m breaststroke respectively.
The team also had 4:15.76 in the 4*100m mixed freestyle relay.
