A new swimming club, Marlins Aquatic Club, was officially launched at the Namibia Olympic Committee last Thursday.
Marlins Aquatic Club (Mac) was established in June at the annual general meeting of Marlins Swimming Club, when Marlins and the Namib Swimming Academy merged to join forces.
Marlins is the oldest swimming club in Namibia, having been established in 1967, while it also produced Namibia’s only pre-independence Springbok swimmer in Dorothea Neumeister.
The club also produced Namibia’s only two Olympic swimmers to date – Monica Dahl, who participated at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and Joerg Lindemeier, who participated at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, as well as the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
NSA was founded in 2004, and since its inception has produced top Namibian swimmers, including the likes of Christine Briedenhann, Maryke Meyer, Sonja Adelaar, Toni Roth and Lushano Lamprecht, all of whom still hold national records.
The Mac executive committee consists of the vice chairman, Paddy Murphy; the general secretary, Irma van Rooyen; the treasurer Monica Boehm; and additional members, Andrew Rowles, Bruce Salt, Herta becker, Tina de Jager and Gabor Salamon.
Jane Samson is the head coach, while Wilfried Poser is the president.
In his speech on Thursday, Poser said the club would diversify to include various swimming disciplines.
“This exco has committed itself to diversifying the club to include the other Fina disciplines besides just swimming, and to especially promote Open Water Swimming. We hopefully will have some very exciting announcements in the near future of re-introducing a long-lost Fina discipline back into the Namibian sports arena. Furthermore, we aim to promote all disciplines at Masters level.
He added that they were constructing a new swimming pool.
“Mac will operate from its premises next to the municipal swimming pool in Olympia, where we are currently constructing a new five-lane short course (25m) pool. Mac’s new facility will be the first pool in Namibia of its size built to conform to the latest Fina standards, and will be the only short course pool in Namibia to accommodate the current electronic touchpad timing system used at the Olympia long course municipal pool for galas.”
Poser also highlighted some top achievements by MAC swimmers over the past few months.
In August, Cheryl Young excelled at the World Masters Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, where she won two silver and three bronze medals.
Shortly afterwards, Ronan Wantenaar competed at the World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary where he broke five Namibian age group and five open records.
At the beginning of September, Jose Canjulo excelled at the African Junior Championships in Tunis, Tunisia where he won two gold, two silver and four bronze medals, while also breaking one championship record.
In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
