Ugandan swimmers post personal bests at Youth Olympic Games in Dakar

Uganda's Mbaga Zara Marie completed her Youth Olympic Games journey with joy after finishing second in the women's 50m backstroke in heat four.

Mbanga posted 36:51, finishing 24 microseconds behind Kenya's Macrine Kalombo. She was, however, not able to make it to the finals after failing to beat the qualification time.

On the other hand, Peterson Inhensiko finished sixth in the men's 50m backstroke in heat five. Inhensiko posted 28:13 in a race which was won by Portuguese swimmer Reis Oliveira.

Ugandan swimmers pick positives

For the first time in history, Uganda sent its biggest delegation to the 4th edition of the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. The 25-member team delegation also included four swimmers, the highest number of swimmers to ever represent the country at the Youth Olympic Games. 

The four swimmers included Peterson Inhensiko, Arthur Mwase, Mbanga Zara and Peyton Ssuubi. Despite not getting a medal, the two male and two female swimmers registered significant results in their races, posting new personal bests. Arthur Mwase managed to pull off three personal bests in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle.

Mbanga Zara, who competed in the women's 200m breaststroke, improved her personal best from 2:59:60 to a new personal best of 2:56:80. Mbanga described the games as tough and hard, but the experience enabled her to push herself for better results. 

"I am really happy with my performance and I enjoyed myself because I managed to achieve one of my targets of improving on my time," Mbanga said. She added that the athletes were faster and more skilled but that she learnt a lot from them. "They were better than us in many aspects because they train with modern facilities. I am planning to improve on my training schedule and also become consistent with it," Mbanga added.

Peterson Inhensiko, who represented the country in four events (50m and 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke and butterfly), also registered new personal bests in all four events. In the 50m freestyle, Inhensiko entered with 25:00 but managed a three-point cut to register a new personal best of 24:7. He made a similar achievement in the 50m butterfly, reducing it from 27:44 to 27:33.

"The competition has been fun and I am grateful to be part of it. I raced with the world's best and I have learnt a lot from them," Inhensiko said.

Arthur Mwase returns today for the last push for a swimming medal when he competes in the men's 200m freestyle.

Men’s 50m backstroke Heat 5/6
1. Reis Oliveira (POR) 26.06
2. Wozdecky Jokov (CRO) 26:88
3. Rick Jeremy (KEN) 27:49
6. Peterson Inhensiko (UGA) 28:13

Today 1:21pm
Men’s 200m Freestyle