Namibia Swimming Federation (Nasfed) president Riaan Steyn has cautioned the public and media against over-hyping athletes who participated in the swimming competition for Angola's 50th independence celebration held in Luanda last weekend.

[New Era] Namibia's swimmers defied the winter chill, delivering a string of record-breaking performances at the second Bank Windhoek/NASFED Short Course Gala of the season, held from 19 to 20 June across three regions of the country.

NASFED PRESIDENT RECAPS SUCCESSFUL 2025, EXPECTS BUSY YEAR AHEAD Sport Fri, 01/02/2026 - 17:48

[New Era] The Namibia Aquatic Sports Federation (NASFED) officially kicked off the 2025 Bank Windhoek NASFED Long Course Season with a national gala at the Olympia Swimming Pool in Windhoek over the weekend.

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Seven Namibian swimmers are competing at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, this week.  The event is seen as a step in preparing for upcoming regional, continental, and world tournaments. Namibia Aquatic Sports Federation (NASFED) president Riaan Steyn said the swimmers face a busy calendar with the Africa Youth Games, Youth Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Youth Commonwealth Games, and qualifications for the 2028 Olympic Games all ahead. “This event is a great platform, and further step, for our NASFED athletes towards qualification for upcoming events such as the Africa Youth Games, Youth Olympics, Commonwealth and Youth Commonwealth Games, and then going on towards qualifying for the Olympics in 2028,” he said. Steyn thanked the Namibian National Olympic Committee, the government, and sponsors for their support.  “We cannot thank the Namibian National Olympic Committee enough for the financial assistance and belief in the future of our athletes. We also cannot fail to mention the wonderful assistance we had from the government prior to the Region 5 Games in preparing these athletes by way of a fully government-sponsored training camp. It is also evident that this is the first time in 10 years that we can match the largest team ever sent to these championships,” he said. He explained that three swimmers who competed at the Africa Schools Games had also qualified for the Junior Worlds but missed out due to entry cut-off times. Steyn also acknowledged local sponsors.  “Thank you to our local sponsors such as Bank Windhoek and the Pupkewitz Foundation, whose kind assistance helps by laying the foundations for these elite swimmers through their sponsorship of the local galas and swim events,” he said. The Namibian team in Romania includes Oliver Durand, Luke Beukes, Lorenzo Esterhuizen, Jessica Humphrey, Madison Bergh, Roselinda Matyayi, and Ainoa Naukosho. Head coach Jean Leitner said the team has settled in well and were adapting to the competition environment. “Today we had our first adaptation session in the competition pool. It was awesome to see the team in action. They were all smiles, loving the new setup, and getting comfortable with the water. You could feel the excitement, but they were also serious when it counted. It’s great to see that mix of fun and focus, just what we need,” she said. Leitner added that the atmosphere in camp reflected the team’s spirit “ Everyone’s supportive, attentive, and really soaking in the whole experience. The vibe is very Namibian, friendly, humble, and full of heart. I’m feeling good about how things are shaping up, and I can’t wait to see the athletes give their all over the next few days,” Leitner said.

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Namibia Swimming Federation (Nasfed) president Riaan Steyn has cautioned the public and media against over-hyping athletes who participated in the swimming competition for Angola’s 50th independence celebration held in Luanda last weekend. Namibia’s team performance was seen as exceptional, finishing with the most gold medals and being declared the overall winners of the competition.  They collected 22 gold, 10 silver, and five bronze medals. Angola followed with 18 gold, 17 silver, and 30 bronze medals. South Africa came third with nine gold, seven silver, and one bronze medal. A total of ten teams took part in the event, including Zambia, Cape Verde, Mozambique, a team from Portugal, and various invited Angolan teams. Despite the strong performance, Steyn urged for perspective on the competition level and warned against creating unrealistic expectations for the athletes. “Dear all, from a Federation point of view, we are extremely proud of the swimmers that took part in this invitational competition and agree that their performances were exceptional. We do not take part half-heartedly in any competition, nor do we send athletes who are unable to perform,” said Steyn. “We, however, need to gain some perspective on the level of the competition and, as a precaution, warn and please ask the media not to over-hype our athletes’ performances, as this can be detrimental to them as well. Media must also note that this was not a national team but a federation team (although they performed like a national team),” he added.

A Namibian Swimming Federation (Nasfed) team excelled at the Angolan 50th independence celebration swimming competition in Luanda over the weekend.  The Namibian team competed against 10 other teams, including invitational teams from southern African nations like Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia, as well as teams from Portugal and Cape Verde, plus local Angolan club sides. Although the Angolan national team finished with the most medals overall, Namibia emerged as the overall winner of the competition, securing the most gold medals. Namibia won 22 gold, 10 silver, and five bronze medals, while Angola secured 18 gold, 17 silver, and 30 bronze medals. South Africa followed with nine gold, seven silver, and one bronze medal.  They were trailed by Clube de Luanda with six gold, 11 silver, and six bronze medals, Portugal with four gold, six silver, and one bronze, Mozambique with two gold, four silver, and eight bronze medals, and Zambia with one gold, three silver, and three bronze medals. Namibia also won the best team award, as well as the best female team award, with three of their swimmers placing in the top three individual female rankings. Nasfed president Riaan Steyn lauded the team’s performance but cautioned against over-hyping the athletes’ achievements, emphasising the need for perspective on the level of competition.  “From a federation point of view, we are extremely proud of the swimmers that took part in this invitational competition. We do not take part half-heartedly in any competition nor do we send athletes who are not able to perform,” he stated. “However, we need to gain some perspective on the level of the competition and, as a precaution, warn against over-hyping our athletes’ performances, as this can be detrimental to them. Also, it must be noted that this was a Nasfed team and not a national team,” he added. Ainoa Naukosho (14) emerged as the top female swimmer, securing seven gold medals and one silver. Victoria de Sousa (14) claimed second place with six gold and five silver medals, while Jessica Humphrey (17) finished third with six gold medals.  Naukosho excelled in the 50m freestyle, finishing with a time of 28.91 seconds; she also won gold in the 100m freestyle (1:02.44), 50m backstroke (32.59), 100m backstroke (1:10.42), 50m butterfly (30.47), 100m butterfly (1:08.33), and the 200m butterfly (2:37.67), along with silver in the 400m medley (5:32.97). De Sousa won gold medals in the 200m freestyle (2:17.09), 400m freestyle (4:55.21), 100m breaststroke (1:24.59), 200m breaststroke (2:56.85), 200m medley (2:33.71), and 400m medley (5:22.08), while also securing silver in the 50m freestyle (29.29), 100m freestyle (1:04.05), 50m breaststroke (38.03), 50m butterfly (31.39), and 100m butterfly (1:13.50). Humphrey won gold medals in the 50m freestyle (27.28), 100m freestyle (59.79), 50m backstroke (30.11), 100m backstroke (1:04.06), 200m backstroke (2:20.76) and 50m butterfly (28.94).  The best male swimmer from the Angolan team was Santiago Guimaraes, who won six gold medals. He was followed by South Africans Matthew Caldwell, who earned four gold and two silver medals, and Jarden Eaton with four gold and one silver medal. Jose Canjulo was Namibia’s best male swimmer, finishing sixth overall with two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. The 19-year-old won gold medals in the 50m breaststroke (29.46) and 100m breaststroke (1:06.08), along with silver in the 200m medley (2:12.62) and bronze in the 100m freestyle (54.22) and 50m backstroke (27.95). Lorenzo Esterhuizen (16) placed 13th overall among men, securing silver in the 200m butterfly (2:11.54) and 400m medley (4:46.35), and bronze in the 100m backstroke (1:01.02), 200m backstroke (2:12.50), and 200m medley (2:15.58). The post Namibian swimmers win gold in Angola  appeared first on The Namibian.

Intense competition at NASFED Long Course Gala Sport Wed, 04/09/2025 - 15:15