Muzito grabs two golds, honoured by Africa Aquatics in Algeria

Ugandan swimming sensation Gloria Anna Muzito was honoured by Africa Aquatics at the conclusion of the 17th Africa Junior and Senior Swimming Championships in Oran, Algeria, on Saturday.

Muzito, 24, a 2025/26 World Aquatics Stipendium Hungaricum Sports Scholarship student at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), amassed the highest number of World Aquatics points (807) from winning the women's 50m freestyle finals with a time of 25.35.

She also won the 100m freestyle event in 55.22, earning 855 points, still higher than her compatriots. The feat earned her $1,200 (sh4.4m) for her exceptional performance.

Muzito collected all four medals Uganda won, including a silver in the 50m butterfly race, won by Senegal's Oumy Diop in 27.03 for 738 points. Muzito (27.61) picked silver while Zimbabwe's Anje van As (27.66) took the bronze. The Ugandan was also good for bronze in the 200m freestyle, clocking 2:03.70 behind Egypt's Lojine Abdallah, who stopped the clock at 2:03.26, edging Zimbabwe's Anje van As (2:03.68) to the gold.

In the 50m freestyle, Muzito (25.35) won gold ahead of Kenyan Sara Mose and South African Rachael Louise Groepes, who took silver and bronze in 28.89 and 25.93 seconds, respectively.

The other Ugandans, Jordan Jolly Ssamula, Mary Peyton Suubi, Ethani Ssengooba, Tara Kisawuzi, Kyle Christian Kaweesa, Peterson Inhensiko, Daniel Rukundo Nuwagaba, master's swimmer Peter Ssebanakitta, and coach Peter Mugisha (who also competed as a master's swimmer) did not make the podium.

Naluwooza finished seventh in the 50m freestyle with 27.81 seconds, just like Tendo Mukalazi, who also finished seventh in 23.39, 1.12 seconds behind Egyptian Sameh Abdelrahaman, who won gold in 22.27. Ssamula also finished seventh in the men's 200m medley in 2:22.85, 18.79 seconds slower than gold medalist Ashry Zeyad of Egypt, who finished in 2:04.06. He also competed in the 50m and 100m breaststroke races, touching down in 31.02 and 1:06.11 respectively, and set 30.17 in the 50m breaststroke.

Mary Peyton Suubi finished eighth in the 1500m race in 19:25.15, an event won by South African Scarlett Le Roux in 17:34.04. She also posted 10:00.59 in one of the heats of the 800m races and made the final of the 200m breaststroke in 2:56.58. Kyle Christian Kimuli Kaweesa recorded 2:41.12 and 1:07.66 in the 200m and 100m breaststroke races respectively, and 2:41.00 in the 200m breaststroke.

In the 50m butterfly, Mukalazi finished 13th overall with a time of 26.09, while Kaumi posted 27.45 and Ssengooba 27.14 in their respective age categories. In the men's 50m fly, Mukalazi made the final, finishing eighth in 27.75, while Ethani Matayo Ssengooba (26.99) and Calvin Moses Kaumi Pendo (26.71) stopped in the preliminaries. Kaumi also competed in the 100m fly, finishing in 59.68 and later posting 1:02.20 in the same event.

In the 100m freestyle, Mukalazi recorded 52.21, Peterson Inhensiko 58.12, and Kaumi 56.46 in their respective categories. In the ladies' 50m fly, Tara Ann Mary Kisawuzi Naluwooza managed 28.87, Muzito 27.89, and Avice Meya Kakayi 30.25 in their respective categories.

Uganda's junior mixed relay team of Jordan Ssamula, Tara Kisawuzi, Peterson Inhensiko, and Mary Peyton Suubi posted 4:03.90 to finish ninth in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Uganda's men also came to the top of the 4x100m freestyle relay in 3:51.68, ahead of swimmers from Kenya and Algeria.

In the mixed 4x100m medley relay final, Uganda's team comprising Meya Kakayi, Kaumi, Mukalazi, and Muzito finished eighth in 4:23.95. South Africa, represented by Cossidy Burgess, Jarden Dylan Eaton, Nicolas Oliva, and Rachel Louise Groepes, won the event in 3:56.78.

The championship attracted swimmers from South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia.