Swimming champs ends in a splash

THE annual Swabou Life Namibia National Swimming Championships held over the weekend ended on a high note for all swimmers coming from as far a field as Swakopmund, Tsumeb and Oranjemund.

With Commonwealth team swimmers Jonay Briedenhann, Dannielle van Zijl and Alex Ray each swimming one event only on Friday before leaving for Melbourne the following day, opportunities were opened for upcoming swimmers. On top of the wave rode Quinton Delie, taking home four of the overall best performance trophies and breaking an incredible total of five age group records.His record-breaking runs included shattering the 400m freestyle record by seven seconds, previously held by Joachim von Alvensleben in a time of 4:43.06, to set a new high of 4:36.03.Delie also slashed 1,2 seconds off the 200m butterfly record held by Byrone Briedenhann and broke his own records in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle.One of swimming’s darlings, 10-year-old Christine Briedenhann, toppled the 20-year-old 100m freestyle record of Monica Dahl and took the record from a previous 1:14.07 to a new time of 1:13.54.Tristan McDonald (13) proved his mettle at the championships by breaking the 200m backstroke record held previously by Byron Briedenhann.Another swimmer that shone brightly at the event was Marike Meyer, who delivered the overall best performance of the competition, achieving 649 Fina points for the 400m freestyle and taking home seven trophies for best female performance in an event.Her male counterpart, Ashley Wheal, won best performance trophies in an event with Stefan van Zijl securing two trophies and Daniela Lindemeier, Ilka Preschel, Jonay Briedenhann and Dannielle van Zijl one trophy each.Another highlight of the championships was a 32-year-old record that was broken.The 13- to 14-year-old boys from Dolphins Swimming Club broke the 200m freestyle relay record set in 1974 by the SWA Tour Team.They also broke the 200m medley relay record.Overall, the 2006 National Swimming Championships was described as a huge success and the atmosphere vibrant.The organisers thanked Swabou Life for making this possible by pumping in a hefty N$90 000 ahead of the event.Top honours and awards for the championships were as follows: Ashley Wheal: Senior Victor Ludorum 5 074 Fina points Marike Meyer: Senior Victrix Ludorum 5 364 Fina points Quinton Delie: Junior Victor Ludorum Cassey Mooney: Junior Victrix Ludorum It was Dolphins Swimming Club who dominated the Swabou Life Championships and who took team honours.Club standings at the end of the three-day competition were as follows: 1.Dolphins Swimming Club – 1916 points 2.Namib Swimming Academy – 874.5 points 3.Marlins Swimming Club – 812.5 points 4.Swakopmund Swimming Club – 456 points 5.Spartans – 246 points 6.Oranjemund Swimming Club – 226 pointsOn top of the wave rode Quinton Delie, taking home four of the overall best performance trophies and breaking an incredible total of five age group records.His record-breaking runs included shattering the 400m freestyle record by seven seconds, previously held by Joachim von Alvensleben in a time of 4:43.06, to set a new high of 4:36.03.Delie also slashed 1,2 seconds off the 200m butterfly record held by Byrone Briedenhann and broke his own records in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle.One of swimming’s darlings, 10-year-old Christine Briedenhann, toppled the 20-year-old 100m freestyle record of Monica Dahl and took the record from a previous 1:14.07 to a new time of 1:13.54.Tristan McDonald (13) proved his mettle at the championships by breaking the 200m backstroke record held previously by Byron Briedenhann.Another swimmer that shone brightly at the event was Marike Meyer, who delivered the overall best performance of the competition, achieving 649 Fina points for the 400m freestyle and taking home seven trophies for best female performance in an event.Her male counterpart, Ashley Wheal, won best performance trophies in an event with Stefan van Zijl securing two trophies and Daniela Lindemeier, Ilka Preschel, Jonay Briedenhann and Dannielle van Zijl one trophy each.Another highlight of the championships was a 32-year-old record that was broken.The 13- to 14-year-old boys from Dolphins Swimming Club broke the 200m freestyle relay record set in 1974 by the SWA Tour Team.They also broke the 200m medley relay record.Overall, the 2006 National Swimming Championships was described as a huge success and the atmosphere vibrant.The organisers thanked Swabou Life for making this possible by pumping in a hefty N$90 000 ahead of the event.Top honours and awards for the championships were as follows: Ashley Wheal: Senior Victor Ludorum 5 074 Fina points Marike Meyer: Senior Victrix Ludorum 5 364 Fina points Quinton Delie: Junior Victor Ludorum Cassey Mooney: Junior Victrix Ludorum It was Dolphins Swimming Club who dominated the Swabou Life Championships and who took team honours. Club standings at the end of the three-day competition were as follows: 1.Dolphins Swimming Club – 1916 points 2.Namib Swimming Academy – 874.5 points 3.Marlins Swimming Club – 812.5 points 4.Swakopmund Swimming Club – 456 points 5.Spartans – 246 points 6.Oranjemund Swimming Club – 226 points