Staff Reporter
FOR the first time in history, four physically challenged swimmers will participate in the Bank Windhoek Long Course National Swimming Championships.
This was confirmed by Bank Windhoek’s Marketing and Corporate Communication Team, who explained that the four swimmers are part of 184 athletes who will compete in the swimming championships. The event, Bank Windhoek added, is sanctioned by World Para Swimming and supported by the Namibia National Paralympic Committee (NNPC).
Bank Windhoek revealed that the four swimmers are Mateus Angula (29), Caitlin Botha (26), Jerome Rooi (18) and Namasiku van der Linden (15). Both Angula and Botha are experienced para swimmers, while Rooi and van der Linden are new to para swimming.
Angula won his first medal in 2018 at the Kenya National Paralympic Committee (KNPC) National Open and Para Swimming Championships. He also represented Namibia on the international swimming stage at the World Para Swimming Championships in Mexico, Great Britain and Portugal.
Botha has been a para swimmer since 2016 and she has participated in regional competitions. She is set to be reclassified in Europe this year as there are currently no classification events for para swimmers in Africa. Rooi and van der Linden are also set to be classified this year, which will allow them to compete regionally and internationally.
Rooi and van der Linden also participated in the 2022 Namibian Swimming Federation’s (NASFED) Namibian National Short Course Championship in Swakopmund. However, the upcoming Bank Windhoek swimming championships will be their first long course national swimming championships.
The Bank Windhoek National Long Course Swimming Championships will start on Thursday and end on Sunday. The event will take place at the Olympia Swimming Pool in Windhoek and entrance will be free.
