Sharks Squad has won the second edition of the Ibadan age grade swimming championship, which was held on Saturday at the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The Sharks Squad claimed the championship with 24 gold, nine silver, and nine bronze medals ahead of Harmony Aquatic Club.
The runner-up had 11 gold, 20 silver, and 12 bronze.
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) swimming team claimed the third position with nine gold, eight silver and six bronze medals, while Jossy swimmers got nine gold, 17 silver, and 27 bronze medals to claim the fourth position.
While speaking, the convener of the championship, 15-year-old Oluwatimilehin Olaiya, expressed satisfaction with the turn out, just as he lauded the participants for their love for swimming.
Olaiya appealed to the government at all levels to invest in training facilities, coaching, and youth programmes to enhance performance in swimming.
He said the aim of the championship is to encourage more young people to embrace swimming, especially in Oyo State.
He said: “I represented Oyo State at the last Youth Games in Asaba, but I was not happy about our participation because we didn’t have enough swimmers to represent the state and that motivated me to do something about this with this championship.
“With what we saw today, I believe Oyo State will do better at the next National Youth Games because I could see a lot of new stars.
“I just want to urge the state government to do the needful to our swimming pool at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan so as to encourage the young ones to exercise and keep fit.
“Investing in swimming not only fosters talent development, but also promotes physical fitness and health among the youth and our target is to nurture the next generation of champions.”
Olaiya who won two silver and one bronze at the last National Youth Games for Oyo State.
Also, the Coordinator of the programme, Folusho Ayo Olaiya, said she was impressed with the outcome of the championship, adding that over 100 swimmers participated in the two days event.
She said there was a lot of improvement compared to last year’s edition, adding that the joy the swimmers showed this year is far better than they did last year.
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The coordinator disclosed that last year, many swimmers dropped off during the event, but this year a lot of them concluded it and also did multiple events.
She thanked the sponsors like MTN, Rite foods, and GB Agboola.
The parent of a contestant, who brought her ward from Ilorin, Kwara State, Tokunbo Obajolowo, lauded the organisers of the championship, saying it was an amazing opportunity for the younger ones to embrace swimming as a sport.
Obajolowo said: “I will just charge both state and federal governments to recognise the value of swimming as a medal-winning sport and to allocate resources accordingly.”
In their separate remarks, Tofunmi Ibidapo and Pelumi Adeosun said they had no regrets in choosing swimming as they target to represent Nigeria at the Olympics level.
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