Nam swimmers excel in Italy

SWIMMERS from the Namib Swimming Academy (NSA) recently competed at the 11th International Short Course Swimming meet in Bozen, Italy.

Among the four Namibian swimmers that participated, they set nine new records and broke 15 Namibian short-course swimming records. In the general ranking of the meet, NSA came 24th (with 50 points) of 61 teams that took part in the gala.Coach Ryan Skinner accompanied the team and he says: “Some great swims from them and a very positive experience for all.This gala really provided a great mix of fast swimming and a chance to interact and learn from the stars in the game.”Christine Briedenhann, eleven years old, was the youngest of the group, but she was the one bringing home the medals.She participated in the age group 12 and under and won four gold and two silver medals in the six events that she took part in.She managed to break longstanding age-group records of well-known swimmers like Monica Dahl (50m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle) and Martina Forster (50 m Breaststroke).In the 50m freestyle Christine clocked 29.43, which according to Skinner is a most impressive time for an 11-year-old.Byron Briedenhann and sister Jonay also did Namibia proud by breaking 12 records between the two of them.Jonay (17 years) swam 1.06.76 for the 100m Individual Medley, breaking both the 17-18 age group as well as the open record.Byron (16 years) swam 1.02.68 for this event and also broke both the age group (15-16) and the Open record.The FINA point scoring allows comparisons of results among different events.It assigns point values to swimming performances, more points for world-class performances and fewer points for slower performances.Jonay obtained 733 points for the 100m IM.This is the highest FINA point obtained so far this season by a Namibian swimmer.With this high FINA points, she qualifies to participate in the ninth FINA World Championships in Manchester, England, next year in April.In Italy, Byron and Christine both qualified for the second FINA Youth World Championships to be held in Monterrey, Mexico, in July next year.Says Skinner: “The swimmers enjoyed every moment of this gala – good to see, as it doesn’t happen all the time in this tough sport.”The next local age-group gala will be held on November 30 at the Marlins short-course swimming pool.In the general ranking of the meet, NSA came 24th (with 50 points) of 61 teams that took part in the gala.Coach Ryan Skinner accompanied the team and he says: “Some great swims from them and a very positive experience for all.This gala really provided a great mix of fast swimming and a chance to interact and learn from the stars in the game.”Christine Briedenhann, eleven years old, was the youngest of the group, but she was the one bringing home the medals.She participated in the age group 12 and under and won four gold and two silver medals in the six events that she took part in.She managed to break longstanding age-group records of well-known swimmers like Monica Dahl (50m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle) and Martina Forster (50 m Breaststroke).In the 50m freestyle Christine clocked 29.43, which according to Skinner is a most impressive time for an 11-year-old.Byron Briedenhann and sister Jonay also did Namibia proud by breaking 12 records between the two of them.Jonay (17 years) swam 1.06.76 for the 100m Individual Medley, breaking both the 17-18 age group as well as the open record.Byron (16 years) swam 1.02.68 for this event and also broke both the age group (15-16) and the Open record.The FINA point scoring allows comparisons of results among different events.It assigns point values to swimming performances, more points for world-class performances and fewer points for slower performances.Jonay obtained 733 points for the 100m IM.This is the highest FINA point obtained so far this season by a Namibian swimmer.With this high FINA points, she qualifies to participate in the ninth FINA World Championships in Manchester, England, next year in April.In Italy, Byron and Christine both qualified for the second FINA Youth World Championships to be held in Monterrey, Mexico, in July next year.Says Skinner: “The swimmers enjoyed every moment of this gala – good to see, as it doesn’t happen all the time in this tough sport.”The next local age-group gala will be held on November 30 at the Marlins short-course swimming pool.