ESA HAILS SENSATIONAL HAYLEY

MBABANE – The Eswatini Swimming Association (ESA) is walking tall over the sensational performance by swimmer Hayley Hoy in the 2020 AUSC Region 5 Youth Games in Maseru, Lesotho.

AUSC denotes African Union Sports Council. The Swim Lab swimmer competed effectively despite not bringing home a medal as she was up against older swimmers aged 17 years. She defied the odds with a stunning performance to finish third during the heats of the 50m butterfly to qualify for the finals in style.

At 13 years of age, Hoy outclassed a field of swimmers, regardless that she was way younger. The games are ongoing in Lesotho since December 2 and were initially due to finish yesterday but unforeseen circumstances like heavy rain, forced postponements for some sporting disciplines. This edition of the games was due last year but the COVID-19 outbreak forced a postponement to this year.

Cold

Meanwhile, other than Hoy, other swimmers who represented the country in the games included Siwakhile Dlamini, Damien Desousa and Cameron Jele. The swimmers had to brave the cold temperatures and extremely high altitude in Maseru. “As an association we are very happy with Hayley’s performance in the 50-metre finals of the women’s 20 and under competitions. She was the youngest athlete by far at 13 years of age and she competed against athletes with a minimum age of 17 years up to 20 years and finished in the top 6, with a faster time than the one she qualified into the finals with,” he said.

Jele said they were impressed with the overall team performance of their young swimmers who left a mark at the games.  “They have definitely captured the attention of the region’s governing body in terms of their performance and talent. We are rallying behind them and we hope for even stronger performances at the games,” he added. The team was accompanied by Coach Welcome Nhlabatsi.

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