Story by Mthokozisi Dube
BULAWAYO’s emerging swimming talent continues to flourish, with siblings Shane and Senamile Mphoko producing standout performances at this year’s Bulawayo Amateur Swimming Association (BASA) Senior Championships.
The pair dominated multiple events, setting new records and reinforcing their growing reputation as some of Zimbabwe’s most promising young swimmers.
Shane delivered one of the tournament’s most commanding performances, capturing gold in the 200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 200m individual medley, and 50m butterfly. He added a silver medal in the 50m breaststroke, underscoring his versatility across strokes and distances.
Despite his impressive medal haul, the young swimmer said he remains focused on continuous improvement.
“I’m here to get my times and win as many gold medals as I can. Swimming is my favourite sport. I started at three and I keep getting better. I’ve been practising all my strokes, getting them wrong at first, but now I know how to do them properly. When I started swimming it was difficult, even at my first club at SOS. I was inspired by Michael Phelps,” he said.
Senamile also impressed, securing gold in the 200m breaststroke and 200m butterfly, as well as silver medals in the 200m individual medley and 200m freestyle.
BASA Chairperson, Lucinda, Afzal expressed satisfaction with the competition’s quality.
“It’s been a very busy week and today, Sunday, we are on the last day of the BASA Senior Championships. We have seen our kids swim amazing races. They have given their all. We are also happy for the teams that came, especially from Botswana, they gave us a good challenge,” said Afzal.
Meanwhile, BASA is preparing to send a team to compete at the Botswana National Championships, scheduled to run from 10 December in Gaborone.
