National swimming coach Peter Mwangangi has set his sights on winning next year's Africa Aquatics Zone 3 Championships.
Mwangangi said they derived a lot of positives from their third-place finish at this year's edition, which concluded in Kigali, Rwanda over the weekend.
He said they were satisfied with the Kigali display, especially after a short training window, coupled with a disjointed build-up.
"We are coming from an environment where we had been suspended and our swimmers are trying to get back to a rhythm. From this perspective, I believe the swimmers did well,” said Mwangangi.
He observed that a good number of top swimmers pulled out due to lack of funding.
“This being a self-sponsored event and with the short time frame we had, a good number of our swimmers could not participate. I hope we will have funding next year to allow us to take a full team,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Mwangangi's call for a lengthy training schedule has got the nod from Kenya Aquatics president Maureen Owiti, who promised to put structures in place.
"We will have longer training periods for our swimmers in 2024 as we seek to reclaim the coveted crown and become the top swimming nation in the region,” added Owiti.
In Kigali, Team Kenya bagged nine gold, 23 silver, and 18 bronze medals.
The gold medallists were Webber Aliyah (girls' 15-16 200m breaststroke), Caffini Duini (girls' 15-16 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke), Elliana Maina (girls' 12 and under 100m butterfly and 50m butterfly), Rana Amenya (girls' 15-16 200m breaststroke), Nyakundi Baraka (boys' 12 and under freestyle), Irangi Nina (girls 13-14 50m freestyle) and girls' 15 and over 400m freestyle through Aaliyah, Amenya, Mawira and Duini.
Elsewhere, Genesis Swimming Club's Rodgers Tobiko is set to make a splash in the swimming coaching world at the Kenyatta University Swim Club, popularly known as Piranaz.
Tobiko, a fourth-year computer science student at Kenyatta University will attend a Kenya Swimming Teachers and Coaches Association (KSTCA) Level 1 Coaching Course on December 4 at Westlands Primary School.
