01/03/2017
2017 Cana Zone IV Swimming Champs - Zimbabwe — Swimming South Africa
Curtain comes down on CANA Zone IV Swimming and Water Polo Championships 2017
Bulawayo, Sunday, 19 February 2017 - The final day continued to produce records with swimmers such as South Africans, Ethan Spieker, Christin Mundell, Matthew Bosch, Lesley Blignaut, Tailyn Seyffert, and Joe Botha, Zimbabwean Robyn Lee, Botswana’s James Freeman, Namibia’s Mikah Burger, Seychelles’ Alexus Laird setting new times.
Curtain comes down on CANA Zone IV Swimming and Water Polo Championships 2017
CANA Zone IV
Botha finished the men 14 and under 200m butterfly in a record time of 2:25.27, Freeman set new times in the men 15-16 200m butterfly (2:13.68) and 200m individual medley (2:17.97) while Burger bettered the records in the men 12 and under 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley.
Tailyn made a new time of 1:08.85 in the women 13-14 100m freestyle while Blignaut set a new record of 1:00.58 in the women 15-16 100m freestyle and Spieker had two new records in the men 13-14 100m freestyle (54.81) and 200m individual medley (2:20.05)
Bosch clocked 53.39 to set a new time in the men 15-16 100m freestyle with Laird making a new time in the women 17 and over 59.64. Mundell finished the women 15-16 200m individual medley to set a new record and Lee set a new time in the women 17 and over 200m individual medley with a time of 2:28.63.
Zimbabwe topped the scoreboard while South Africa emerged the leader on the medals table. On the Combined Team Scores Zimbabwe notched 2958.50 followed by Zambia who had 2295.50 and in the third spot was South Africa with 1,939. South Africa finished clinched 43 gold medals, 26 silver and 10 bronze while Zimbabwe had 23 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze. Zimbabwe was declared winners by finishing top of the points table. Zambia came third in the medals table with 18 gold, 11 silver and 20 bronze.
CANA Zone IV Secretary - General & Treasurer, Shaun Adriaanse said they were happy with the way the championship progressed adding they were a success. He said the event is part of implementation of the resolutions made by the Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 to ensure the seamless hosting of championships by different confederations. “We agreed on the need to synergise the federation championships with the Region 5 Youth Games to ensure host countries can plan for the AUSC Games and the confederations championships as part of the regions Long Term Athlete Development Framework. “I am glad that we are successfully implementing those resolutions,” said Adriaanse. He said overall the games were a success both from an organisational point of view and athlete performance. Adriaanse attributed the increase in the number of new records being set to the improvement in standard of swimming across the region. “It (records) is a clear indication that the quality of swimming in the region is improving and that is the exciting part for us as a confederation. We have our Podium Performance Programme in place and although it is in its infant stages we have put in place certain structures and systems to make sure we have consistency in applying the concept of long term youth development and we are satisfied it’s starting to bear fruit,” he said. Adriaanse added he was glad to see an increase in the number of youngsters from previously disadvantaged communities taking part in the competition and winning medals.
Final Combined Teams Scores:
1. Zimbabwe 2958.5
2. Zambia 2295.5
3. South Africa 1939
4. Mauritius 1687.5
5. Kenya 1373
6. Botswana 1014
7. Mozambique 881
8. Namibia 681.5
9. Uganda 627
10. Malawi 608
11. Seychelles 598
12. Angola 361
13. Tanzania 206
The full results are available at:
http://swimsa.org/liveresults/2017/2017-cana-zone-iv-swimming-champs-zimbabwe
ENDS
CANA Zone IV is the governing body of aquatics in Southern Africa.
Its objective is to encourage the practice of aquatic disciplines for all in Southern Africa with the purpose of promoting swimming as a life skill through Learn To Swim programmes; providing healthy exercise to Southern Africans of all ages and races; recruiting recreational swimmers to compete in the various competitions; and promoting competition and athlete development to the highest level.
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