Swimmers Ampaire, Kimuli kick-start Uganda’s campaign in Berlin

Ugandan swimmers Ampaire Namanya and John Trevor Kimuli kicked off Uganda's campaign at this year's Rhine-Ruhr FISU World University Games by competing in the opening heats of the 100m breaststroke at the Schwimm-und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark in Berlin on Thursday. 

Namanya clocked a time of 1:13.34, finishing just 63 microseconds behind Argentina's Ismael Enzo Macedo, who won the opening heat. Mongolia's Khangal Bayartsengel secured third place with a time of 1:20.47.

Namanya also participated in the second heat of the 50m butterfly, where he finished fourth with a time of 28.14, 2.91 seconds behind the winning time of 25.23 set by Argentina's Nicolás Ignacio Retrive. 

Chile's Nicolás Bobadilla and Oman's Nasser Saif Al Kindi placed second and third in 26.74 and 27.86, respectively. The heat included seven contestants, including Kenyan Jesse Mwangi Okumu, Lebanese Marc Fares, and Mohammed Eyad Al Siyabi from Oman. 

Namanya, with an entry time of 2:45.70, will return to the pool on Saturday for the 200m breaststroke, competing against Latvia's Maksis Maksimilians Vegeris, Azerbaijan's Said Haminov, Ecuador's Derek Alejandro Velasco, and Argentina's Ismael Enzo Macedo, who has a time of 2:47.48. He will also compete in the 50m freestyle heats on Tuesday alongside eight other opponents. 

On the other hand, Kimuli finished fifth in the second heat of the 100m breaststroke, 7.31 seconds behind the winner, Ecuador's swimmer who clocked 1:08.07. Another Ecuadorian, Daniel Josue Caicedo, and Chris Pavithra Wijayalath from Sri Lanka secured second and third places with times of 1:10.53 and 1:12.28, respectively. 

Kimuli also finished fifth in the third heat of the 50m butterfly with a time of 27.85, while Paraguay's Matheo Matheus won in 25.04. He will return on Monday for the 50m breaststroke heats, where, barring an exceptional performance, he may face elimination from the championship, much like Namanya in the remaining events.