Swimming: Kenyan-born Somali aims higher after Algeria tour

Kenyan-born Somali swimmer Sudais Bashir now aims higher, raising the stakes at the Visa Dolphins Swim Club where he trains, after recently representing his parents' country, Somalia, at the just concluded 17th edition of the Africa swimming championships in Oran, Algeria, from May 5-9 this year.

Bashir's swim club is based at Parklands in Nairobi, and competes under the Kiambu Aquatics auspices. It has now raised its profile on the swimming chats, now ranked second best in the open category, but last year it was first.

The 17-year-old's coach, Japheth Onkoba, a level 4 American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) certified coach, has hailed Bashir's abilities while at Parklands, describing him as a resilient and ambitious youngster ready to take the world by storm.

While in Algeria, he posted a personal best of 30.75 at the 50 m freestyle preliminaries from his previous 2.56, did a 1.11.39 in the 100 m freestyle preliminaries, and a 35.83 in the 50 m butterfly preliminaries.

With his recent exploits, the Somali international is now set to break more records by improving his times while in the water, a clear role model now to upcoming swimmers at his Visa Dolphins club in Parklands, Nairobi.