Top swimmers retain titles.

Windhoek, Mar 17 – – For the past two consecutive years, Ronan Wantenaar and Heleni Stergiadis retained their Ludorum trophies after taking part in the four-day Bank Windhoek Long Course National Championships at the Olympia Swimming Pool in Windhoek.

Representing Aqua Swimming and Fitness Club, Wantenaar recorded 3736 Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) points while Dolphins’ Stergiadis logged 3576 FINA points. The achievement is Stergiadis’ fourth Senior Victrix Ludorum at the Bank Windhoek Long Course National Championships. 

Dolphins Swimming Club’s Oliver Durand also retained the Junior Victor Ludorum accolade, while Aqua Swimming and Fitness Club’s Jessica Humphrey won the Junior Victrix Ludorum. 

At the meet, Dolphins Swimming Club finished top, followed by Aqua Swimming and Fitness Club in second and the Oranjemund Sand Sharks club in third. 

Bank Windhoek’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Hayley Allen, congratulated the participants and wished the winners the best. “Swimming is about commitment and we understand the amount of time and hard work that the swimmers have to put in to compete at this top-level successfully.”

Sponsored by Bank Windhoek and hosted by the Namibia Swimming Union (NASU), the 2021 Bank Windhoek Long Course National Championships saw 144 swimmers from seven swimming clubs compete. They are Aqua Swimming and Fitness Club, Dolphins Swimming Club, Flippers Swimming Club, Marlins Aquatic Club, Oranjemund Sand Sharks, Phoenix Swimming Academy, and Swakopmund Swimming Club. The swimmers battled it out in 84 events. Below are the full results of Trophy winners:

Bank Windhoek Long Course National Championships Trophy winners

NASU’s Executive Committee Member, Nicky McNamara, said: “We had a wonderful Nationals, and the mood on the pool deck was focused and relaxed.  Swimmers and Officials were all happy to be back and competing.”

McNamara added that it had been a long and hard road for swimmers due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our swimmers needed to maintain not only their physical peak but also their mental acumen and they have done so with humility.”

The much anticipated Bank Windhoek Long Course National Championships is the Bank Windhoek Long Course Gala season’s highlight. It serves as the trials for the South African Junior Championships scheduled to take place in South Africa next month. 

The next Bank Windhoek Gala is the Aqua pentathlon, which will be hosted on Saturday, 3 April 2021, at the Olympia Swimming Pool in Windhoek.

Robert Maseka

mrobert@namibiadailynews.info