Swimmers take the plunge at a recent national championship at Kasarani/HANDOUT
Team Kenya will send 12 young swimmers to the World Aquatics Junior Open Water Championships in Santa Fe, Argentina, scheduled for September.
The squad, aged 14–17, will begin preparations after the national trials in April in Mombasa, according to Heize Kahindo, chairman of the Open Water Committee and executive member of Kenya Aquatics.
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“We want to develop young swimmers to start open water early so that they can learn the technique and endurance from a young age, and by the time they reach their later years, they are proficient in the sport,” said Kahindo.
The Kenyan team will compete in the 3km and 5km age categories, with a long-term plan to nurture top athletes to represent the country at the highest levels of competition.
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“We are coming up with a plan to popularise open water. Many of us know conventional swimming, so we need to start identifying talent from a young age and nurture them,” Kahindo added.
Interest in the discipline has grown significantly, spurred by last year’s Africa Aquatics Open Water Swimming High-Performance Training Camp in Zanzibar, which brought together swimmers, coaches, and officials from across the continent and provided many participants with their first real exposure to open water racing.
Kahindo, who also serves on the Africa Aquatics Open Water Swimming Committee, noted that the upcoming championships will give Kenya’s juniors a chance to test their endurance, race tactics, and mental strength against top international competitors.
In addition to the Argentina championships, Kenya will send a team to the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in July, giving the swimmers further exposure to elite competition.
“It is now becoming a serious pathway for African swimmers who want to compete on the world stage,” Kahindo said, highlighting the federation’s commitment to developing the next generation of Kenyan open water athletes.
With structured preparation, consistent exposure to both continental and global events, and a growing focus on talent identification and nurturing, Kenya’s young swimmers are poised to make a mark in the increasingly competitive world of open water racing.