Ssengonzi lights up Uganda’s performance at 2021 Worlds
Raising the flag. Ugandan swimmers from left to right; Mukalazi, Namutebi, Meya and Ssengonzi after their 4x50m mixed medley relay on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The stage is now set for siblings Tendo Mukalazi and Kirabo Namutebi to cap it all for Uganda as they compete in the men’s 100m free and women’s 50m free respectively.
Jesse Ssengonzi made the most of his first senior appearance for the Uganda national team at the ongoing Fina World Swimming (25m) Championships in Abu Dhabi.
The US-based 19 year old started off by sinking what was Uganda’s best showing in the men’s 100m butterfly at the short course World Championships – a 1:04.28 by Arnold Kisulo at the 13th edition in 2016 in Windsor, Canada – to set a new national record of 53.64 seconds at the Etihad Arena.
Ssengonzi, who had in the past represented Uganda at junior continental championships before keeping to school and letting his older sister and continental silver and bronze medallist Rebecca run the show, was happy with his return as it was closer to the B qualifying time for the championship 53.15.
He hoped to make what was the qualifying time (23.89) for 50m fly but stopped the clock at 24.15 – also way better than Kisulo’s 27.35.
Impressive show
But in between the two individual events, Ssengonzi, participated in the team’s mixed relays.
His butterfly leg in the medley relay produced 24.04 as Uganda finished at 1:51.67 to place 25th in the world and second in Africa behind Senegal that clocked 1:50.95.
“It has been an impressive show because for the first time in the journey of our swimming, we have someone getting really close to B times,” team coach Joseph Kabogoza said.
In what was Uganda’s first relay at the short course Worlds on Friday, Ssengonzi had the team’s best split 23.44 as their cummulative time 1:41.54 got them 23rd place overall and again second in Africa as Senegal clocked 1:40.20.
Female swimmer Avice Meya also wanted to know what her freestyle would look like after Kirabo Namutebi’s times meant the former had to switch to backstroke for individual races. Meya managed 28.50 in the relay.
In the medley relay, she had a ‘warm up’ 50m backstroke split in which she managed 31.51 on Saturday - moments after her 29.90 performance in 50m fly.
It set her up nicely for yesterday’s individual 50m back where she recorded 31.35 from a 33.20 entry time leaving the Taiwan-based swimmer “impressed with her performance”.
Climax for siblings
The stage is now set for siblings Tendo Mukalazi and Kirabo Namutebi to cap it all for Uganda as they compete in the men’s 100m free and women’s 50m free respectively.
Mukalazi set the bar high when he did 23.10 at the Fina World Cup in October in Kazan.
He has been off that on two occasions at the Etihad Arena but Kabogoza is happy to see him “cement the 23s as it shows the first one was no fluke.”
Mukalazi did 23.78 in the mixed free relay and went for the breaststroke leg in the mixed medley relay where his split was 30.19.
In the individual 50m free on Saturday, he managed 23.56.
Today, he will attempt to better the 50.94 he made in Kazan in the 100m free.
His sister Kirabo Namutebi will also be eyeing to better her own 25.84 national record in the 50m free.
On Friday, she gave a glimpse of what could occur when she anchored the mixed free relay with a 25.82. But the 25.93 while anchoring the mixed medley relay showed it could be a nail biting climax to Uganda’s Abu Dhabi trip..
