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Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent

RISING swimming star, Denilson Cyprianos, ended the Fina World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in style by smashing his national record in the 17-year-old category.

Cyprianos clocked 2 minutes 06.96 seconds to knock his previous record of 2 minutes 08:64 seconds.

The international competition ended on Sunday with Cyprianos making impressive performances.

The Christian Brothers’ College learner inched closer to the open age group record, which stands at 2 minutes 06:61 seconds held by an N James.

He had aimed to go below the 2 minutes 08:00 seconds mark in the competition and achieved his target.

The Stingrays Academy swimmer, however, failed to make it to the semi-finals. 

Cyprianos and Donata Katai had set new national records in the 100m backstroke, with the former breaking his own 17-year-old record from 59.01 seconds to 58.27 seconds. 

He also broke the open age group national record previously held by Brendan Ashby which stood at 58.28 seconds.

Katai broke her own record set in March which stood at 1 minute 05:60 seconds, taking it down to 1 minute 05.04 seconds on the second day of the competition. Liam O’Hara swam a personal best in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1 minute 03.92 seconds, shaving off almost two seconds from his entry time, while Paige van der Westhuizen clocked 35.46 seconds in her 50m breaststroke.

In other races, Katai completed the 50m butterfly race in 29.70 seconds, while van der Westhuizen hit the pad in 30.39 seconds, with Cyprianos completing the 50m backstroke in 28.28 seconds.

O’Hara swam the 200m individual medley in 2 minutes 14.63 seconds, knocking off three seconds from his personal best time, while Cyprianos came in 2 minutes 01.52 seconds in the 200 freestyle, as he emerged first in his heat. The team earned praise from Zimbabwe Swimming, Tracey Doorman, who expressed delight at the performances.

Doorman said with age on their side, the swimmers should be able to compete at senior events in the coming year.

“We have the African Swimming Championships coming up in Durban, South Africa, in April, an event they can start preparing for now and also aim for the next World Championships,” said Doorman.

Meanwhile, at the Africa Games in Marrakech, Morocco, Robyn Lee scooped bronze in the 200m backstroke coming third in a time of 2 minutes 22.50 seconds.