SEVENTEEN junior Namibian swimmers took part in the SA Telkom Level 1 National Age Group championships held in very hot and humid Durban from February 22 to 25.
The Kings Park Aquatic Centre was nearly full as 1 145 young and upcoming swimmers from South African clubs, Mozambique, Swaziland and Namibia showcased their talent. Swimmers Marli Engelbrecht, Simone Laborn, Julia Laggner, Shane Louw, Kim Meintjies, Tamara Siedentopf, Cara Spall, Jean-Paul Burger, Ruan Burger, Jacques de Klerk, Etienne Foelscher, Marko Hecht, Alexander Kaufmann, Nils Laggner, Gerhard Louw, Vincent Meintjies and Alexander Skinner swam a total of 153 races and put Namibia in 16th place out of 96 teams.Simone Laborn, Shane Louw and Etienne Foelscher managed to finish amongst the best in one of their races and swam one final each.The promising young swimmer Jean-Paul Burger (10) made it into the finals six times, finishing fourth on four occasions out of up to 140 participants.The first Namibian swimmer to clinch a medal was Tamara Siedentopf (12) who received bronze medal for the 200-metres breaststroke.Despite contracting a severe stomach virus at the start of the competition and slipping on the wet pool deck, which left serious abrasions on her leg, she still swam into six finals.Twelve-year-old Julia Laggner left 75 swimmers in her wake in the 50-metres backstroke and received a silver medal for her performance.She competed in five finals.The top performer of the team was undoubtedly Marko Hecht (11).With his superb performances, he swam in seven finals and received three gold medals.He finished in first place in the 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke and won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke.This weekend, the Namibian National Championships will be taking place at the Olympia Swimming Pool.Swimmers Marli Engelbrecht, Simone Laborn, Julia Laggner, Shane Louw, Kim Meintjies, Tamara Siedentopf, Cara Spall, Jean-Paul Burger, Ruan Burger, Jacques de Klerk, Etienne Foelscher, Marko Hecht, Alexander Kaufmann, Nils Laggner, Gerhard Louw, Vincent Meintjies and Alexander Skinner swam a total of 153 races and put Namibia in 16th place out of 96 teams.Simone Laborn, Shane Louw and Etienne Foelscher managed to finish amongst the best in one of their races and swam one final each.The promising young swimmer Jean-Paul Burger (10) made it into the finals six times, finishing fourth on four occasions out of up to 140 participants.The first Namibian swimmer to clinch a medal was Tamara Siedentopf (12) who received bronze medal for the 200-metres breaststroke.Despite contracting a severe stomach virus at the start of the competition and slipping on the wet pool deck, which left serious abrasions on her leg, she still swam into six finals.Twelve-year-old Julia Laggner left 75 swimmers in her wake in the 50-metres backstroke and received a silver medal for her performance.She competed in five finals.The top performer of the team was undoubtedly Marko Hecht (11).With his superb performances, he swam in seven finals and received three gold medals.He finished in first place in the 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke and won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke.This weekend, the Namibian National Championships will be taking place at the Olympia Swimming Pool.
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