TEAM Zimbabwe swimming coach Masi Takaedza has said athletes are targeting Olympic qualification at the ongoing World Aquatics Championships currently underway in Doha, Qatar.
The event roared into action last Friday and will run until February 18, with the first Zimbabwe athlete getting into the pool tomorrow.
Zimbabwe is represented by Liam Davis, Donata Katai, Denilson Cyprianos and Paige Van Der Westhuzien — who are all not new on the global stage.
Davis will swim in the 100m breaststroke, Katai 50m and 100m backstroke, Cyprianos 100m and 200m backstroke while Paige will compete in the 50m and 100m freestyle event.
Takaedza highlighted that the swimmers have been in action and working hard to fully equip themselves for this assignment.
“Preparations have gone well and all swimmers have trained hard and are in shape for the competition. We are hoping for new personal best times. The target is to get Olympic qualifying times or get as close as possible to the times,” Takaedza said.
“We are hoping that the swimmers have learnt from previous experiences and will not be overwhelmed by the competition. All the swimmers have been on such competitions and have shown the fighting spirit and even posting personal best times, so we are just hoping for the best.
Takaedza left the country yesterday and will link up with the swimmers in Doha.
- Zim swimmers target Olympics qualification
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The World Aquatics Championships is held biennially bringing together top athletes from across the globe.
The athletes will compete in six different aquatic sports — open water swimming, swimming, diving, high diving, artistic swimming and water polo — with qualifications for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games up for grabs.
So far, the duo of long-distance runner, Isaac Mpofu and rower, Stephen Cox are the ones who have already qualified for the Olympic games.
