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Quinton Tayali

Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
BULAWAYO province used its numerical advantage to dominate the swimming competition in the Zimbabwe National Youth Games that ended yesterday.

The chilly 17 °C water temperature did not deter the swimmers, who contested in two age categories; the 17 years and under and 18-22 years.

National team swimmer Quinton Tayali proved exceptional, as he achieved a qualifying time for the South African Junior Championships when he won the 100m butterfly in a time of one minute 01.36 seconds.

Bulawayo had the largest delegation, with each province having been asked to provide 32-member teams to compete in each age group, but other provinces struggled to raise the required numbers.

Bulawayo amassed a massive 1 994 points in the 17 years and under combined team scores, while Masvingo edged Harare for second position with 443 points. Harare were third with 437 and Manicaland took fourth spot with 243 points, while Mashonaland West got 181 points for a fifth place finish.

Bulawayo made a clean sweep of almost all races, except for the ones Harare’s Paige van der Westhuizen participated in.

The 14-year-old Harare swimmer took gold medals in the 10 events she swam, underlying her dominance in her age group nationally.

She eclipsed Riana Rollo, Chiedza Mtetwa, Sancia Bravo and Stacey Sayi.

Bulawayo swimmers Tayali, Denilson Cyprianos, Keanu Vanbiljon, Bruce Dale, Roan Isemonger, Anesu Sebastien and Kristy Simon all clinched gold in their respective events.

Swimming is one of the 14 sport codes that were introduced for the first time at this year’s Youth Games following their expansion after the adoption of the National Sports Policy.

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