By Ernest Ndunda

Hamdan Bayusuf of Mombasa Academy was in a class of his own when he shattered a -43- year- old national record as the Kenya Open Age Group and Relays swimming championships ended on Sunday in Mombasa.

From left Hamdan Bayusuf, coach Mansoor and Sylvia Brunlehner in Mombasa. [PHOTO:MAARUFU MOHAMED]

Bayusuf, who was also declared the best boy swimmer with 49 points, broke the long-standing record in the All comers 200m Backstroke which was set back in 1967 by P Reynolds of Australia in Nairobi. The record stood at 2:21.50 before Bayusuf set a new one of 2:19.87.

"I was happy to see Bayusuf splash water at ease to break a national record which had remained elusive to many elite swimmers for 43 years," said Bayusuf’s coach Fakry Mansoor.

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Shivraj Vaghela of Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, also produced a sterling show, setting up three new records. Apart from Vaghela, dozens of records were set in the three-day gala, which attracted a record 2,000 swimmers at the Aga Khan Academy’s swimming pool.

Nairobi’s Braeburn International School juniors Micah Fernandes and Anita Field led swimmers in staging sterling performances.

Vaghela, who represented Coast in this year’s Level Two swimming gala in South Africa, broke one of the long-standing records in boys’ 12/13 categories.

Vaghela shattered an eight-year-old record of 1.10.33 set by Nairobi’s David Jones in 2002 in boys 12/13 100m Individual Medley. He set a new record of 1.09.59.

In 100m butterfly, Vaghela smashed his own record of 1:10.00 he set a fortnight ago to set a new record of 1:08.00. He added the third record in the 50m backstroke when he rubbed his own record of 32.19 to register a new one of 31.97.