Namibia’s junior swimmers excelled at the 17th Africa Junior and Senior Swimming Championships in Oran, Algeria, finishing fifth out of 43 nations.
The swimmers won two silver and five bronze medals, while reaching several more finals and setting one Namibian open and two age group records.
South Africa were the overall winners in the junior category with a total of 52 medals, followed by Egypt with 39 and Algeria with 16. Zimbabwe came fourth with one gold and two silver medals while Namibia came fifth with two silver and five bronze medals.
Luke Beukes led the way with a silver and a bronze medal in the boys under-19 junior category.
He won silver in the 50m freestyle in 22.77 seconds and bronze in the 100m freestyle, which was a new Namibian 17-18 age group record.
Beukes also set a new Namibian open as well as age group record after coming fifth in the 50m butterfly in a time of 24.91 seconds.
Victoria De Sousa won a silver medal in the junior girls 200m individual medley with a time of 2:25.09, and a bronze medal in the 400m individual medley with a time of 5:10.76.
Roselinde Matyayi won two bronze medals in the junior girls 50m butterfly with a time of 28.95 seconds, and in the 50m backstroke with a time of 30.16 seconds.
The Namibian junior girls team of Matyayi, De Sousa, Lilia Ellis and Ainoa Naukosho won a bronze medal in the 4x100m medley relay with a time of 4:40.58.
Several other swimmers reached finals in both the junior and senior competitions.
Jose Canjulo narrowly missed out on a medal when he came fourth in the senior men’s 100m breaststroke, while he also came sixth in the 100m butterfly.
Molina Smalley qualified for four finals in the senior women’s 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley events.
Lorenzo Esterhuizen reached three finals in the junior boys competition, coming fourth in the 200m backstroke, fifth in the 400m individual medley and fifth in the 100m backstroke, while Naukosho came fourth in the junior girls 200m individual medley.
“Namibia ranked fifth overall out of 43 nations, ahead of several larger delegations. This achievement underscores Namibia’s growing strength, competitive spirit and the promise of its athletes on the continental stage,” the Namibia Aquatics Sports Federation (Nasfed) says in a press release.
“Nasfed celebrates these results as a testament to the dedication of our swimmers, coaches and support staff. We remain committed to nurturing talent, expanding opportunities and building momentum for future international competitions. Namibia has shown that we are not only participants but contenders, inspiring pride across the nation,” it adds.
Meanwhile, at the medal ceremony the Africa aquatics flag was handed over to Namibia, who will host the 18th Africa Swimming Championships in December 2027.
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