In Accra, Ghana, she was joined by her elder sibling, Tendo Mukalazi, 19, who found stiffer competition, especially from swimmers from South Africa and Egypt. The two countries dominated the competition.
After nearly two years of no swimming competition in Uganda, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, it was impressive that Uganda even managed to send a team to Ghana.
Swimmers like Adnan Kabuye, Joshua Lumonya, Steve Magera and Mubiru Swagia, had barely any regular competitions before they were thrown in the deep end of Africa’s most popular swimming showpiece.
That this was a long-course competition in a 50-metre swimming pool, which does not exist in Uganda, it was always going to be a tall order for the swimmers to make their mark.
At least one thing is for sure; the swimmers return to Uganda brimming with confidence on taking on some of Africa’s fastest swimmers.
Attention now turns to what plans the Uganda Swimming Federation has for Uganda, especially in the junior category where many children have been home due to the lockdown effects on schools.
It is not clear when competitions will start, although neighbouring Tanzania already resumed. A number of swimming clubs had already closed as part of their respect to government’s directive on sports.
However, over the last couple of months, a number of swim clubs have resumed training although the numbers have dropped. However, the numbers are expected to go up when the swimming calendar is officially released.
