COUNTRY TIDBITS Editor’s Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the performances for each of the following swimmers were swum at last year’s World Championships in Shanghai, China (Juy 24-31, 2011).
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Algeria (ALG) Nabil Kebbab was the top swimmer from his country, finishing 26th in the men’s 50 breast (28.25), 33rd in the 100 free (49.85) and 61st in the 100 breast (1:04.50).
until the opening ceremonies of the XXXth Olympic Games. Beginning in its January issue, Swimming World
Angola (ANG)
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Magazine is providing MA
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monthly regional
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Olympic previews
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through June.
Mariana Henriques swam in four events for Angola. Her top swim was a 27th-place finish in the women’s 50 breast (37.23). She also finished 43rd in the 100 breast (1:26.27), 48th in the 50 fly (34.59) and 63rd in the 50 free (30.83).
This month:
Burundi (BDI) Beni-Bertrand Binobagira and Elsie Uwamahoro led the way for Burundi in Shanghai. Binobagira placed 64th in the men’s 100 fly (1:19.76) and 98th in the 100 free (1:03.39), while Uwamahoro finished 76th in the women’s 100 free (1:17.70) and 78th in the 50 free (35.11).
Africa
Benin (BEN) Angele Gbenou placed 33rd in the women’s 50 breast in 46.90 and 83rd in the 50 free (38.40), while Thiere Videgni took 39th in the men’s 50 back (42.95) and 81st in the 100 breast (1:34.34).
Botswana (BOT) John Kamyuka and Deandra Van Der Colff represented their country in Shanghai. Kamyuka placed 45th in the men’s 50 fly (29.03) and 76th in the 50 free (26.30), while Van Der Colff earned 47th in the women’s 50 fly (34.06) and 62nd in the 50 free (30.60).
Burkina Faso (BUR Angelika Sita Ouedraogo led the way for Burkina Faso in Shanghai with a 30th-place finish in the women’s 50 breast (40.93). She also placed 75th in the 50 free (33.54).
Congo (CGO) Emile Bakale placed in two different events at last year’s World Championships, finishing 30th in the men’s 50 back (28.34) and 67th in the 50 free (25.38).
Cameroon (CMR) Fdingue Ekane took 43rd in the men’s 50 breast (34.34), 79th in the 100 breast (1:19.30), 84th in the 50 free (27.58) and 97th in the 100 free (1:02.65). Guedia Mouafo claimed 29th in the women’s 50 breast (40.15), 45th in the 100 breast (1:30.56), 57th in the 50 back (39.02), 64th in the 50 free (30.84) and 71st in the 100 free (1:09.28).
Comoros (COM) Sihame Ayouba Ali posted the top finish for her country with a 77th-place 1:21.54 in the women’s 100 free.
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February 2012
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WOMEN
Y E A R S
medal—and seventh in the 50 fly (23.60). His brother, David, just missed semis in the men’s 50 free with a 17th-place 22.34.
1992 BARCELONA WOMEN - NONE
Libya (LBA)
MEN - NONE 1996 ATLANTA 100 BACK 100 BREAST 200 BREAST
MARIANNE KRIEL, RSA PENNY HEYNS, RSA PENNY HEYNS, RSA
● BRONZE (1:02.12) ● GOLD (1:07.73) ● GOLD (2:25.41)
2000 SYDNEY WOMEN
● BRONZE (1:07.55)
200 BREAST
TERENCE PARKIN, RSA
● SILVER (2:12.50)
WOMEN
P A S T
2 0
PENNY HEYNS, RSA
MEN
Madagascar (MAD)
100 BREAST
2004 ATHENS KIRSTY COVENTRY, ZIM KIRSTY COVENTRY, ZIM KIRSTY COVENTRY, ZIM ROLAND SCHOEMAN, RSA ROLAND SCHOEMAN, RSA SOUTH AFRICA
● SILVER (1:00.50) ● GOLD (2:09.19) ● BRONZE (2:12.72) ● BRONZE (22.02) ● SILVER (48.23) ● GOLD (3:13.17)
MEN - NONE
T H E
MEN WOMEN
2008 BEIJING 100 BACK 200 BACK 200 IM 400 IM
KIRSTY COVENTRY, ZIM KIRSTY COVENTRY, ZIM KIRSTY COVENTRY, ZIM KIRSTY COVENTRY, ZIM
● SILVER (59.19) ● GOLD (2:05.24) ● SILVER (2:08.59) ● SILVER (4:29.89)
1500 FREE
OUS MELLOULI, TUN
● GOLD (14:40.84)
Estellah Fils Rabetsara paced her nation in Shanghai with a 38th-place finish in the women’s 200 back (2:33.83) and a 61stplace time of 1:03.62 in the 100 free.
Morocco (MAR) One of the top female swimmers in the region, Sara El Bekri made semifinals in the women’s 200 breast, finishing 15th overall in 2:26.74. She also just missed semis in the 100 breast with a 17th-place 1:08.96.
Mali (MLI) Mamadou Fofana posted the top swims for Mali with a 41st-place 32.03 in the men’s 50 breast and a 78th-place 1:16.86 in the 100 breast.
Mozambique (MOZ) Jessica Vieira had the best effort for Mozambique with a 40th-place 27.11 in the women’s 50 free. She also took 52nd in the 100 free (1:00.14).
Mauritius (MRI)
OLYMPIC PREVIEW - AFRICA — continued from 9
Egypt (EGY)
Heather Arseth clocked a 2:10.93 to take 43rd in the women’s 200 free.
Amidst the backdrop of the Egyptian Revolution that began in January 2011, Mohamed Farhoud led his country with a pair of top 30 finishes—28th in the 400 free (3:55.32) and 29th in the 800 free (8:10.35).
Mauritania (MTN)
Ethiopia (ETH)
Namibia (NAM)
Mulualem Girma paced Ethiopia with a 36th-place finish in the men’s 50 back (33.85). He also took 99th in the 50 free (28.81).
Daniela Lindemeier turned in a pair of her nation’s top swims with a 39th-place 1:15.64 in the women’s 100 breast and a 37th-place 2:47.56 in the 200 breast.
Guinea (GUI)
Eycub Leebeid had his country’s only swim with a 116th-place 45.18 in the men’s 50 free.
Dede Camara earned the best finishes for her nation with a 31st in the women’s 50 breast (44.44) and 46th in the 100 breast (1:40.16).
Nigeria (NGR)
Ivory Coast (CIV)
Niger (NIG)
Brou Kouassi Olivier collected a 71st-place finish in Shanghai in the men’s 50 free (25.81).
Nafissa Adamou clocked a 34th-place 51.24 in the women’s 50 breast, and an 84th-place 43.36 in the 50 free.
Kenya (KEN) Jason Dunford finished fourth in the men’s 100 fly with a 51.59—just 33-hundredths away from a 10
Lesotho (LES) Masempe Theko placed 87th in the women’s 50 free (49.75).
MEN - NONE
100 BACK 200 BACK 200 IM 50 FREE 100 FREE 400 FR
Sofyan Elgidi was Libya’s lone representative with a 57th-place finish in the men’s 100 fly (58.38) and a 79th-place showing in the 100 free (56.45).
February 2012
Yellow Yeiyah placed 35th in the men’s 50 fly (25.41) and 46th in the 50 free (24.01).
Republic of South Africa (RSA) Cameron van der Burgh and Chad Le Clos
Johanna Umurungi posted a 32.68 to finish 45th in the women’s 50 fly.
Senegal (SEN) Mallick Fall earned 27thplace honors in the men’s 50 breast (28.33), while also taking 48th in the 100 breast (1:02.55).
Seychelles (SEY) Aure Fanchette placed 39th in the women’s 200 back (2:52.04).
Sudan (SUD) Mohamed Eltayeb clocked a 38thplace 35.98 in the men’s 50 back, while also taking 105th with a 29.49 in the 50 free.
Swaziland (SWZ) Luke Hall was the lone representative for Swaziland, finishing 45th in the men’s 50 free (23.92) and 57th in the 100 free (52.45).
Tanzania (TAN) Magdalena Moshi finished 61st in the women’s 50 free (30.60) and 64th in the 100 free (1:05.39).
Togo (TOG) Yao Messa Amegbeto swam
Tunisia (TUN) Ous Mellouli, the first African male swimmer ever to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual swimming event with a victory in the men’s 1500 free in Beijing, will be looking to defend his title in 2012. However, China’s Sun Yang—the new world record holder—will be the favorite. Mellouli suffered a rib injury last December, but still won 15 gold medals at the Arab Games!
Uganda (UGA) Jamila Lunkuse finished 26th in the women’s 50 breast (36.65) and 51st in the 50 free (28.34).
Zambia (ZAM) Zane Jordan turned in a 28th-place 27.12 in the men’s 50 back as well as a 46th-place 59.33 in the 100 back.
Zimbabwe (ZIM) Kirsty Coventry, who won her sixth Swimming World female African Swimmer of the Year award in the last eight years, recently changed her training location. Princess Charlene of Monaco, formerly Charlene Wittstock, was an Olympic 200 meter backstroker for South Africa, and extended her patronage to Coventry, paying for her expenses to train in Monaco prior to London.
A
fter a remarkable short course performance at FINA’s World Cup Series in October and November, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos is poised to battle for an Olympic medal at the London Games in the men’s 200 fly. On his way to capturing the overall $100,000 grand prize among the men and an additional $45,500 in race winnings, Le Clos, 19, won an amazing 30 medals during the five-and-ahalf-week/seven-meet circuit. Le Clos became the third swimmer from South Africa to win the World Cup, joining Ryk Neethland and Cameron van der Burgh. Le Clos returned home to a hero’s welcome after his World Cup performance. As he disembarked the plane at the King Shaka International Airport, Le Clos was greeted by members of the media as well as his local fans, who chanted his name and also called him, “The Slayer”—referring to his swim in Moscow, where he beat Michael Phelps, 1:51.95 to 1:53.24, for second place. Le Clos showed his versatility on the short course circuit, but his best shot at an Olympic medal is in the men’s 200 fly. His fifth-place time of 1:55.07 from Worlds ranked him No. 7 in the world last year. Phelps (1:53.34) and Takeshi Matsuda (1:54.01) have the top two times of 2011, but Le Clos is less than half-a-second behind third-ranked Wu Peng (1:54.67). In the 100 fly, he ranks 17th (52.17), but he finished 13th in the event in Shanghai and helped South Africa to a 10th-place finish in the 400 medley relay. ❖ [PHOTO BY JUMANA EL-HELOUETH, REUTERS]
Rwanda (RWA)
41.43 in the men’s 50 breast, good for 47th place.
Did Not Compete The following African countries did not compete at last year’s World Championships: Guinea Bissau, Ecuatorial Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
» Chad Le Clos’ best finish at last summer’s World Championships in Shanghai was a fifth-place performance in the 200 fly, but last October and November during the FINA World Cup, the South African was the circuit’s top performer, claiming $145,500 in prize money.
ABOVE
February 2012
DARKHORSE MEDAL CONTENDERS
turned in the best performances for South Africa in 2011. Van der Burgh claimed Swimming World’s male African Swimmer of the Year award with 18 out of 19 first-place votes, and Le Clos cleared nearly $150,000 in prize money as the male FINA World Cup champion.
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