The Olympia Swimming Pool will be the centre of attraction when Namibia hosts the XX Africa Aquatics Zone IV Swimming Championships from today to Sunday.
More than 370 swimmers from 13 Southern African nations as well as two central African countries have arrived in Windhoek for the annual regional swimming showdown which also includes the Open Water Championships to be held at Lake Oanob outside Rehoboth on Sunday.
Namibia recently announced two teams for the event - an A team of 41 swimmers and a B or Nasfed (Namibia Swimming Federation) team of 25 swimers, while the president of Nasfed, Riaan Steyn said it was an honour to host the event.
"Hosting this prestigious event is both an honour and a testament to Namibia's growing stature in the world of aquatics sport. We are thrilled to welcome athletes and teams from across the continent and to offer them the opportiunity to compete at our world class facilities in Windhoek and the serene setting of Lake Oanob," he said.
As the defending champions and now also with home ground advantage, Namibia will be amongst the favourites to win the overall title of Zone IV champions.
Last year Namibia were the overall winners of the Cana Zone IV Swimming Championships which has since been renamed to Africa Aquatics to remain aligned with World Aquatics, who also rebranded from Fina.
At last year's championships in the Angolan capital, Luanda, in May, Namibia finished on top of the medal table with a total of 117 medals, followed by Angola on 74, South Africa on 48, Mozambique on 47, and Zambia on 33.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Namibia also topped the points table with a total of 2 757 points, followed by Angola (2 355), Mozambique (2 068), South Africa (1 598) and Botswana (1 230).
A lot, however, will depend on the strength of the regional powerhouse, South Africa, which has not always sent its strongest team to the Cana championships in the past, using the annual event more as a developmental tournament.
Furthermore, four of Namibia's top senior swimmers - Oliver Durand, Ronan Wantenaar, Molina Smalley and Jessica Humphrey will also not be present as they are preparing for the World Aquatics Swimming Championships which will be held in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, from 10 to 15 December.
Namibia, however, still has a strong team and with swimmers like Patrick Durand, Oelof Badenhorst, Lorenzo Esterhuizen, Rodney Feris, Arkell Wellmann, Roselinde Matyayi, Aiona Naukosho and Ariana Naukosho all showing fine form in local galas so far, will be hopeful of retaining the title.
Besides 13 SADC nations, two central African nations will also be in action, namely Uganda, who recently won the Africa Aquatics Zone III Championships in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, and Tanzania.
The championships start this morning at 09h00, to be followed by the offical opening at 14h00.
The championships continue every day at 09h00 through till Sunday when it's expected to be concluded by lunch time.
