Silverfin’s gala serves spicy showdowns ahead of July national championship

It was utter chaos in the boys 9-10 years age group at the just-concluded fifth edition of the Silverfin Pentathlon at the Kabira International School of Uganda.

In this age group, there were four different winners in the five events the swimmers did. However, at the end of the two-day competition, none of the boys were certain who would make it to the podium.

Silverfin’s Batuk Raan, Aqua Akii’s Tzion Tamale, and Jaguar’s duo of Ashley Kimuli and Austin Wanyama – all of whom won at least one event – had an opportunity to the podium. In the end, Tamale pipped his competitors to the top, with Raan coming in second, and Black Panther’s Liam Kaweesa, who, regardless of not winning any event, had collected just enough points to finish third overall.

If there is one thing the Silverfin Pentathlon did is that it tore to pieces the script of predictions of who the outright winners will be in some age groups when the Uganda National Swimming Championships start in the first week of July.

Swimmers will review their results from the Silverfin Pentathlon to rack up hours in the water and polish their strokes. The battlelines have now been drawn. Jaguar’s dynamic partnership of Zara Mbanga and Peyton Suubi, fresh from some tough competitions in Serbia and Egypt respectively, have been dominant in the girls 13-14-year age group for more than a year.

But the two got a rude awakening from a number of girls at the pentathlon who beat them in some events. Also, it is the first time in Uganda’s swimming that three girls in this 13–14-year age-group went below the 29 second barrier in the same 50-metre freestyle race – with Dolphin’s duo of Crystal Ssemanda and Mackyala Ssali, and Mbanga making the trio, proving how fast the swimmers are becoming.

In the end, Ssemanda and Ssali were still beaten by Mbanga and Suubi to the overall accolades, with arguably the most improved swimmer in this entire age group, Ozprey’s Gabriella Opolot, coming third.

Opolot’s younger sister, Gianna, is also making waves in the girls 9–10-year age group. Her battle with Aya Adams was feisty, especially in the 50-metre butterfly. However, the younger Opolot was simply too hot to handle, with Adams settling for second in the overall rankings.

Malcolm Nahamya remains every coach’s dream swimmer and a challenge at the same time. The Dolphins’ swimmer, who topped the boys 15-16 age group, has everything in his arsenal – speed, height and technique. While he has the talent in abundance, he also has a deep lack, especially the time to train.

Just how good can Nahamya get if he trained regularly? Ethani Ssengooba and Kyle Kaweesa, the other runner-ups in this age group, probably shudder at the thought of that answer. Kaweesa’s younger brother, Jonathan, does not have this kind of worry.

He is having the time of his life in the boys 13-14 age group, where he collected the maximum points by sweeping all his races. The same can almost be said of Blessing Namugga in the girls 8 years and under, Paloma Kirabo in the girls 15-16 years, Swagiah Mubiru in the girls 17 years and over, and Pendo Kaumi, fresh from the Africa Junior Championships in Egypt, in the boys 17 years and over.

Attention now shifts to the national swimming championships in July, where, for some swimmers, revenge will be a dish best served cold.