Jason Dunford qualifies for 50m butterfly final

By Mutwiri Mutuota In India

Kenya has never won a medal in swimming at the Commonwealth Games but that stands to be erased this morning by Jason Dunford, who cruised to top seeding for the 50m butterfly final with a 23.45 victory in his semi-final at the Dr SPM Aquatics Complex in Delhi.

Dunford, primed for the final by beating world, Africa and Commonwealth record holder, South Africa’s Mark Schoeman, his main rival for the top medal twice in the preliminaries and semis.

The elder of the Dunford brothers delivered a 23.61 top time during the morning session preliminaries before qualifying for the decider as top seed in the afternoon.

"I missed Melbourne Commonwealth Games (2006) because of my exams but the time to rectify the fact Kenya has never won a medal in swimming at the event is now. In the morning, they (rivals) knew I had arrived and now, I have eased to the final and I’m in good shape to deliver," Jason told FeverPitch.

"I now have the psychological edge over Schoeman since I beat him twice today and I intend to carry that momentum over to the final and hopefully, everyone will be proud," the swimmer added.

"It makes me so proud to see what he has achieved and it’s an unbelievable feeling. When he is on the deck, I was nervous but you could see he was so relaxed when he hit the water and that is what is most important. Look, they can’t believe a Kenyan can beat an Australian or South African in swimming!

His father, Martin who together with mother Geraldine travelled from Nairobi and were at the Aquatic Centre, gushed with glee.

"We have high hopes for him tomorrow (Wednesday) to deliver our first medal in swimming, but the gap between the Dunford brothers and the rest of the team in terms of quality is too wide and something needs to be done," swimming coach, Abdul Malik said.

While the elder Jason’s performance was the highpoint for Team Kenya at the pool, his teammates struggled to make an impression with Ramadhan Vyombo, who squeezed into the quarters in the same event by virtue of being a fastest loser, bowing out of competition in last place after chalking 25.58.

"Swimmers back at home need better exposure so that we can measure up to the standards required at this level. Achieving what the Dunfords are doing requires a lot of investment," the Physical Education teacher Aga Khan Academy remarked.