Swimmers turn focus to Africa Champs

AFTER setting new national records and personal bests at the just concluded London Olympics, Rwandan swimmers Jackson Niyomugabo and Alphonsine Agahozo have now turned their focus on the upcoming Africa swimming championships due September 10-15 in Nairobi, Kenya.France based 16-year old Agahozo, who finished third in heat three after posting a personal best 30.72 seconds in the women’s 50m freestyle on her Olympic debut, has vowed to work hard and continue in the same spirit.Agahozo, who did not qualify for the semi-finals, instead opted to continue training in London even after her competition on August 3. The long term goal is to compete favourably at the 2016 Rio Games but the preparations start now.Agahozo who swam 31.41 seconds in the same event at last year’s World championships in Shanghai, China told Times Sport, “When we get back to Kigali, we shall continue training because we expect to perform well in Nairobi. Looking at Rio, we have to start now, not months to the Olympics.”In the same spirit, Karongi-based Niyomugabo believes in Nairobi he will find redemption where he can compete more comfortably in the long distance events (800m and 1500m freestyle) which have been his favourite for some time.Niyomugabo finished in fifth place at last year’s All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique after posting nine minutes and five seconds in the men’s 800m freestyle and with a second appearance at the prestigious Olympics, the dream continues.“I am very confident about the continental championships, and I am determined to do my best in Nairobi. But it is about consistency as I look forward to Rio 2016 Games,” admitted the 24-year old, who learnt how to swim by reading a book, “The Secrets to Swimming Development”.Rwanda’s swimming head coach at the London Olympics, Nicolas Dusine has revealed that the country’s new target is to at least send five swimmers to the Rio Games.For a country without an Olympic size swimming pool, Rwandan swimmers face the same challenges like many of their African counterparts, but according to Dusine, nothing is going to come in between the dream and achieving it.An optimistic Dusine noted, “I am really happy with our performance at the Olympics because it is an improvement for us as a country and we are not going to stop here. We shall continue building for the future with Rio 2016 in mind.”

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Swimmers turn focus to Africa Champs