Borteyman Aquatic Centre, Borteyman, Accra, Sunday July 14 - African Sharks Swim team, with a total of 15 individual qualifications, and 4 relay qualifications garnered over the regular season of the Ghana Swim League’s season four - were poised for the Day 2 of the Meet of Champions. The previous day, Day 1, saw the sharks contest fiercely for top events, where the sharks displayed strong resolve and focus on the day. The day ended with a combined medal of 24 - 2 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze. African Sharks, an age-group program in Kumasi, running for roughly 8 years, comes from an already disadvantaged position, owing to the structure of the meets, as well as logistical issues, which mostly affect the team’s performance, albeit, satisfactory. The club makes roughly 7 to 10 travels every season to compete. This challenge presents, in addition to the demands of school, travel, accommodation, and the list goes on. Despite the obvious challenges, the sharks did not renege or relent in their pursuit of greatness and recognition. The Day 2 came with lots of expectations and strategies, which in total, augured well for the sharks - marshalling a total of 21 medals; 3 gold, 6 silver and 12 bronze. The total medal count won by the sharks in this year’s contest reaches 45, a drop in count from the previous total count of 53, yet a more potent statement in this year’s count, due to the number of golds won. Last season saw a total of 3 gold, 21 silver, and 29 bronze. So many club records were broken, new PBs were set, and new heights attained - as swimmers who have never won any medal before since the season began - finally clinched unto their firsts! In the much coveted Breaststroke events, for the 13-14 boys category, Jadon Ofori ensured no swimmer came close to the top spot in all the event categories - 50, 100 & 200m respectively, winning 3 emphatic golds with a new PB in 200m of 3:19.84! The firsts - Jada Ofori, Nyamede and Raphael - our newly medalled sharks also came home with two medals for Jada in 200IM with a new record of 3:35.45, and 400IM with a new time of 7:25.75. She won bronze in the 200, and silver in the 400. Nyamede, the long-legged shark, noted for a good DPS in breaststroke also came to the fore, fighting for his first bronze medal in the 100m Breaststroke with a final time of 1:41.20. Raphael, a promise well kept, well delivered, and well earned in the 400m Free, dropping massively from 6:11.80 to 5:58.39 to clinch tightly to the second place - the first position was in grabs, but for height’s sake. It was indeed a shark show by measure - where our regular medalling athletes, ensured to hold their poise and fight to the end - with the usual shark attacks and shark-surprises! A shark attack in the 8&under 50m Free event, where the audacious Nana Ama shark-surprised the anxious crowd in the bleachers, as well as competing swimmers to win Gold in the most dramatic fashion; swimmer doomed to the outer lane, out-classing and out-performing everyone by one-quarter of a body length! Her finals? 41.94! The aggression of the sharks was in every bit of stroke taken, lap completed, starts executed, finishes well earned, with a keen focus on executing legal moves to avoid disqualifications. Our relay squad was a discovery! With new tune-ups to the team, and stroke changes, the 11-14 Boys and mixed relay came with lots of expectations and anxiousness - fuel the sharks ride on as it came to be evident! For the first time in the history of relays, we won third place! 2 bronze for the Boys squad and the mixed squad. New heights got unlocked, as the team’s overall place in the season moved from 8th last season to 6th! This has indeed been a shark show, and with each passing season, the potential of this young club unravels in the most audacious of moments - moments that get everyone talking about our exploits on the backdrop of the challenges the team uniquely go through.
