Wheal is top swimmer at Zambian Gala

Ten Namibian swimmers made the two-day 1700km road journey to Lusaka to take part in the Zambian International Gala over the Easter weekend competing against nine other teams from Botswana, Zambia and Kenya.
The first time that Namibian swimmers competed on Zambian soil turned out to be the biggest medal haul in history for any Namibian touring team, with a total of 58 medals won over the three-day competition.
In total, 210 swimmers turned up to take part in the competition that traditionally has only attracted Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Kenya. At the Sub-Saharan Meet in Windhoek in January, the Zambian Federation made an appeal to the Namibia Amateur Swimming Union (NASU) to send a team.
The Namibian team of 10 swimmers between the ages of 10 and 17 was far smaller than the other teams, which had between 20 and 37 swimmers, but none-the-less walked away with a far greater share of medals than other teams, as well as the number one slot amongst the male swimmers.
Ashley Wheal (17) from the Marlins Club in Windhoek scored 50 points to take the Victor Ludorum honours. He was also Namibia?s Victor Ludorum at the past National Championships. Ashley also took the greatest number of Golds with 8.
Abraham Louw (12) however took the greatest haul of individual medals with one for each of the twelve times he swam. Other Gold medal winners were his sister Triesha (17) with 2 and his brother Leon (14) with 1, Monique Marais (14) and Katja Laborn (12) with two each and Patrick Wheal (14) and Maximillian Siedentopf with one each.
Every one of the ten swimmers from Marlins in Windhoek and Dolphins in Tsumeb established personal best times at the Lusaka Olympic pool and made a number of solid friends during their time at poolside and in the hotel. With the Sub-Saharan competition being offered in Lusaka next January, Namibian swimming can now also prepare based on this past weekend?s experiences.
The Zambian International promises to be one of the most popular trips in the future for Namibian Age Group swimmers and may take over from the Level 1, 2 and 3 Competitions staged in South Africa. This past season has shown that Namibia gains great experience and rewards by also looking at our neighbours to the east and north.
The idea behind the Sub-Saharan annual camp and competition is also now showing the intended results of bringing swimmers from other African countries together more often than in the past and allowing the exchange of ideas and expertise.
With the road trip to Lusaka also taking in the Victoria Falls in Livingstone, a trip on the Zambezi and many other new cultural experiences, the young Namibian Team added a number of other rewards to the trip. Some even attempted a 111m fall off the Victoria Rail bridge attached to a bungi. Swimmers now know that the rewards of the hard work they put into the pool during the season, are not just found in the pool and the medals hung around their necks.