Walking in Dunford’s shoes, Abubakar eyes glory in Paris

United Kingdom-based Kenyan swimmer, Ridhwan Abubakar, saw a dark cloud when the country was banned by World Aquatics in August last year.

Leadership wrangles forced World Aquatics to suspend Kenya Aquatics (formerly Kenya Swimming Federation) in January 2021 until a new office was in place.

This suspension meant that Kenyan swimmers could only compete under neutral citizenship. World Aquatics disbanded KSF on June 28, 2022, setting up a three-man Stabilisation Committee headed by South Africa’s Jace Naidoo to run activities in the country and help KSF prepare for fresh elections.

However, a court injunction halted the elections organised by the committee on July 7, 2023, forcing World Aquatics to intervene.

The ban was lifted upon the election of a new office in October, where Maureen Owiti was elected new Kenya Aquatics president. With the ban lifted, Abubakar faced a race against time to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.

Having not attained the qualifying standards, his only way out was through world ranking, a route other Kenyan swimmers were also eyeing.

Abubakar’s favourite event was the 400m freestyle long course, where the qualifying time was three minutes and 46.78 seconds, with a consideration time of 3:47.91.

Kenya was represented by two swimmers (Hamdan Bayusuf -Men’s 100m backstroke, and Talisa Lanoe-Women’s 100m backstroke) through wild cards at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 due to Covid 19.

Abubakar needed to compete in as many events as possible, but the ban by World Aquatics hindered his efforts. “It wasn’t something great to hear…it was disheartening news since I was bound to miss major events including the World Championships,” said Abubakar.

National record

After the ban was lifted, Abubakar aimed to either attain the Olympics qualifying standards or secure a wild card through a good world ranking. Remarkably, he broke the National record in the 400m Long course four times within six months.

This feat was enough to plunge the 23-year-old from Mombasa, who fell in love with the ocean aged nine, into his maiden Olympic Games.

Abubakar and US-based Maria Brunlehner will be the only Kenyan swimmers in Paris. Brunlehner will compete in the 50m freestyle.

“I feel honoured and it’s a dream come true. Every athlete desires to compete at the Olympics and I am glad that it’s my turn to experience this,” said Abubakar, who honed his skills under coach Abdul Malik, before renowned coach Fakhry Mansoor took him up at 10.

“I cannot wait to swim my best event and perform at my best,” said Abubakar.

Master’s degree

“It’s a big milestone and I haven’t even let it sink in yet, still feels like a dream until I see Paris,” said Abubakar, adding that he can’t wait to get to the Olympic Village.

He said qualifying for the Olympics means everything. “I have been waiting for this moment my whole career and now it’s so close and I can’t think of anything else every day leading up to it,” said Abubakar.

Abubakar is now aiming to accomplish several milestones this summer. Besides making his Olympics debut, he is targeting to improve his national record with an under three-minute performance, and reach the final of his 400m freestyle event.

He will look to emulate former Kenyan swimmer Jason Dunford, who broke the Olympic record (51.14) in the 100m butterfly race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, minutes later it was lowered  by three swimmers.

After the Olympics, he will return to his UK base to graduate with a Master’s degree in Automotive Engineering with Business Management from the University of Bath in September.

“One can’t ask for more from God with all these blessings,” said Abubakar, reflecting on his 400m national record exploits that catapulted him to the Paris Summer Games. Before breaking the 400m freestyle record, he shattered three national records during the UK Swimming Championships in November.

Dunford's record

He started with the 200m freestyle, clocking 1:51.08, erasing his previous record of 1:51.79 set in Abu Dhabi in 2021, which was earlier set by David Dunford.

He claimed the 800m freestyle record with a new time of 8:22.39, toppling Ivan Hart's previous record of 8:27.16 set in 2022. He then completed his treble by breaking the 400m freestyle short course record held by Jason Dunford, clocking 3:58.78 to surpass the previous record of 3:59.13 set in 2010.

Abubakar then competed in the international Coimbra Swimming Championship in Portugal on December 17, where he finished second in 4:08.71, breaking his national record of 4:10.68 set on March 13, 2022.

He started the 2024 season well, improving the record to 4:06.44 at the World Swimming Championship in Doha in February, before breaking it again at the Vienna International Swimming Meet on May 13 with a new time of 4:05.65. This performance elevated his world ranking points from 712 to 719.

Abubakar bettered his record again, clocking 4:04.39 at the National Championship in Croatia on June 8, a feat that saw his World Aquatic points rise to 730, strengthening his qualification for the Paris Olympics. 

Abubakar revealed that his training regime in the UK involved a more focused and consistent approach, working hard on the little details.

“I engaged with nutritionists and coaches to gain every little bit of help that could give me an advantage leading up to qualifiers,” revealed Abubakar, who has nine swim sessions every week, ranging between one hour and 45 minutes to two hours per session.

'Lion-hearted man'

He also does two gym sessions a week, lasting one hour under experienced coach Andrei Vorontsov, who has handled many Olympians.

“Vorontsov is a man who demands a lot from his athletes and was the perfect coach leading up to the Olympics,” reckoned Abubakar, adding that it was his wish to hit the Olympics qualifying standards, but circumstances couldn’t allow it. “It’s not easy to do so but of course, I would want to reach that level one day and I think I can…I haven’t reached my peak yet and can still strive to get to that level,” said Abubakar, adding that patience and support from all other areas are needed to reach this target.

Abubakar noted that it’s never easy leading up to big events when every athlete battles to stay in good shape to post good times.

“There are many unprecedented situations that may arise, such as illness, injuries, conflicts between teammates or coaches. There is the urge of not wanting to even train some days but it’s part of the sport,” said Abubakar, who also talked about how injuries and sickness at competitions derailed his performance.

“Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t ready for the competition because of the injury I had three weeks ago. I had to stay strong and do my best since nothing great comes easy,” quipped Abubakar.

Coach Mansoor describes Abubakar as a 'lion-hearted man', who embraced discipline and hard work at a tender age.

"His attendance and efforts have been top-notch, follows instructions, and is keen to know new things," said Mansoor. "He has always been a fighter and I know he will swim under four minutes in Paris and reach the topmost level."