Dar teen leads hunt for Cana medals
Tanzania swimmer Hilal Hilal (right) poses with the winner and first runner-up after their 50-metre butterfly competition at the Cana Zone IV Championships in Mauritius yesterday. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
Tanzanian swimmer Hilal Hilal hit the ground running at the Cana Zone 4 championship in Mauritius after winning a bronze medal.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian swimmer Hilal Hilal hit the ground running at the Cana Zone 4 championship in Mauritius after winning a bronze medal.
Hilal, who competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, won the medal in the 50-metre butterfly competition, clocking 26.70 seconds.
The Cana Zone 4 has brought together top swimmers from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
The gold medal went to Zambian swimmer Raph Goveia who clocked 25.11 as the silver medal was won by another Zambian, Tom Donker on 25.66. Hilal also featured in the 50-metre backstroke competition and finished seventh out of 13 swimmers who battled it out in the event that involved athletes over the age of 17 years.
The Tanzanian clocked 29.91 in the race that saw Zambian Tom Donker win gold after clocking 27.40 seconds.
The 50-metre events do not count for Olympic qualification, thus Hilal will have to roll his sleeves in the 100-metre events if he is to attain the Rio 2016 marks. At the Dubai championships, Hilal was among the top swimmers together with Dar Swim Club budding athlete Sonia Tumiotto, but none of them secured the marks.
Tumiotto grabbed three medals in Dubai while another Tanzanian up-and-coming swimmer Catherine Mason missed the bronze by a whisker after finishing fourth, timing 31.89 seconds in the 50-metre butterfly competition.
Dar Swim Club swimmer Smriti Gokarn featured in four events. In the 200-metre backstroke event, Smriti finished 14th out of 18 swimmers after clocking 3.21.30 while in the freestyle, she finished ninth out of 19 competitors.
Amani Doggart was another Tanzanian swimmer who participated at the Dubai championships, but she had nothing big to write home about.
Doggart finished 14th in the 50-metre butterfly event after spending 38.54 seconds and later took the seventh place in 50-metre backstroke competition after clocking 37.41. Tanzania has fielded four swimmers at the Mauritius Olympic qualifying championships.
