Why Coast Region is not a hub for professional swimmers in Kenya

The Coastline of Kenya has been blessed with beautiful natural beaches thus making swimming one of the popular hobbies in the region.

From Diani in Kwale through Kenyatta Public Beach in Mombasa County, all the way to Shella Beach of Lamu County, most people learn the art of swimming from tender ages.

The unanswered question is why the region has not produced good swimmers to fly the Kenya’s flag high in international championships.

Going by recent examples, Kenya has been represented in international competitions by Kenyans living in foreign countries.

The Dunford brothers Jason and David lived and trained in the United States of America as they represented Kenya in top level competitions including Olympic Games.

In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Japan, Kenya was represented by only two swimmers who were initially residents of Mombasa but switched their training bases to America and Europe.

Danilo Rosafio and Emily Muteti represented Kenya in the male and female categories respectively.

Emily Muteti camped and training at the Grand Canyon University in America while Danilo shifted to Loughborough University in United Kingdom.

Despite them being far away from home they were coached by Mombasa based coaches Abdulmalik Abubakar and Fakhry Mansoor.

Malik explains the paradoxical phenomenon, of local based coaches handling foreign based Kenyans in the sport and the limited representation in competitions like Olympics.

"The mark is always high and that is why most developed countries get more slots. Even the two slots we (Kenya) got they were given mark B which is slightly low," Malik added.

Sahib Omar, a private swimming trainer from Lamu who is based in Mombasa explains that there is a big difference of swimming in the ocean and in the pool.

“A swimmer can be good in the ocean but will need extra classes and exercise to pursue any competition in a pool. Pool water is stagnant and very heavy due to chemicals but in the ocean there are currents which can make you move from one place to another without even applying much effort," he said.

He added, "In competitions there are set of rules which the swimmer must learn to be able to compete unlike in the beaches. If the competitions were held in the beaches, it would be a different affair.”

Omar also believes lack of information among youths who view swimming as just a hobby and not a professional sport limits the Coast of Kenya to produce great swimmers as it would be expected.