We are drowning, please save us, cries swimming coach

National swimming team coach Malik Mzee Mwabondo has appealed for the sport to be allowed to resume so that top swimmers can begin training in order not to lose track.

Mwabondo said that since the government banned sports on March 16 after the first coronavirus case was reported in the country, swimmers have not been training because the sport is listed as a contact sport.

Some of Kenya’s top swimmers are Maria Brunhelner, Emily Muteti, Issa Abdalla and Danilo Rosafio.

By Friday, the Ministry of Health reported that Kenya now has 40,620 cases of Covid-19, 755 deaths and 30,876 recoveries.

Swimmers had high hopes of resuming the sport when the Ministry of Sports appointed a 25-member Advisory Committee on June 30 to come up with guidelines. The committee presented its report on July 23.

The committee released proposed health protocols for the resumption of non-contact sports on August 24.

Banned

However, the team proposed that swimming alongside judo, boxing, karate, rugby, wrestling and taekwondo remain closed because they were classified as contact sports that are high risk for the spread of the virus.

“Maybe someone doesn’t understand what is swimming is, but trust me, swimming is the most non-contact sport of all,” Mwabondo said after Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed released the final guidelines on resumption of sports on September 18.

Athletics, lawn tennis and cycling were cleared to reopen.

Mwabondo said they are still waiting for feedback on the appeal sent to the Sports and Health ministries for the suspension on swimming to be lifted.

“Our request is to allow a phased resumption, especially with top swimmers only to begin training,” he said.

The coach said that swimming has been in a bad situation since March when schools were closed by the government due to coronavirus.

“This is a sport that requires a pool for training, but not everyone owns a pool. We have also been affected also by loss of income. Swimmers, too, haven’t been spared, for example, those who were 14-years-old in March but have passed that age-group, can’t meet their target of breaking a record for that age,” Mwabondo said.

At the same time, Mwabondo said that constant wrangling in Kenya Swimming Federation (KSF) pushed the International Swimming Federation (Fina) to ban Kenya in January.

Internal wrangles

He said that there has been a big problem at KSF in the last four years.

However, as coaches, we don’t interfere with the running of the federation because there are people elected to run it,” the 41-year-old renowned Fina coach said.

The man behind the rise of Crawford International School swimming team in Tatu City, Kiambu County, said that KSF was supposed to hold elections in December last year under a caretaker committee but that didn’t happen.

“Wrangles have really affected this sport. Right now, we have swimmers who have not qualified for the Olympic Games that will be held in Tokyo next year."

"When a federation is healthy and is run properly, we can lobby and even get four wildcards. At the moment, we can only send one female swimmer and one male swimmer to the Games,” Mwabondo, who has been involved in nurturing young swimmers for the last 10 years said. 

Left big gap

On whether Kenya has the ability to fill the shoes of the Dunford brothers, Jason and David, Mwabondo admitted the two left a very big gap when they retired.

“The two brothers set the standards too high. We have been trying to catch up. Most swimmers in the country we have right now were motivated by the Dunford brothers. They remain role models for many. I know in the next two to five years, once things are okay, we can get a swimmer who can go up to that level,” he says.   

Mwabondo is also happy with the government’s plan to criminalise doping. Considering that over 140 Kenyan athletes from all sports have been caught doping since 2004, he said, a sporting nation like Kenya needs to protect its brand. “Doping is not just a crime against others, but also self.”  

In 2013, Mwabondo vied unsuccessfully for the Member of County Assembly of Mkomani Ward in Nyali Constituency as an independent candidate.

“My dream is to continue with my coaching and empowering young people. Hopefully, I will get rewarded for my work by being nominated,” he said about his political ambitions.

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