More swimming records broken in Mombasa

By Ernest Ndunda

It was another field day for Rachita Shah as she broke yet another record as four national records were shattered during the National Age Group and Open swimming championships in Mombasa.

The three-day championships ended yesterday at Oshwal Community swimming pool With Mombasa swimmers dominating most of the events.

Rachita Shah [PHOTO: MAARUFU MOHAMED/ STANDARD].

Rachita, who had broken the 400m individual medley race on Friday, went ahead to erase her own record in the girls’ 100m 16-and-over backstroke she set last year in Mombasa. The Mombasa Aga Khan Academy student set a new national record of 1.14.70, breaking the previous record of 1.14.15. Coast Swimming Club broke the other two records.

In the boy’s 400x100m relay, Coast Swimming Club team comprising of twins Ahmed and Mohammed Hassan, Hemed Abdallah and Abubakar Ahmed set a new record of 4.31.47, erasing the old record of 4.32.00 set by Nairobi’s Saint Mary’s School in 1977.

The Coast boys also went ahead to set a new national record of 10.19.20 in the 4x200m race. The old record was set in 1998 by Bandari Swimming Club in a time of 11.58.51.

Sylvia Brunlehner of Mombasa Academy, who recently represented the country in the Commonwealth Junior championships in Pune, India, easily won the girls’ 200m freestyle in a time of 2.28.07.

United States International University’s Dolphins Club won the 400m freestyle relay in a time of 6.06.68.

Brookside Marketing Manager Peter Wasonga pledged continued sponsorship for swimming competitions.