Swimmer to open Team Malawi’s Olympics campaign

Team Malawi’s campaign for 2024 Paris Olympic Games will begin today, when swimmer Filipe Miguel Gomes takes to the lane in France.

According to Malawi Olympic Committee (Moc) Director Naomi Chinatu, who is the chef de mission, Gomes will be in action in heat five lane eight.

“All eyes will be on Filipe as he is the first athlete to compete for Team Malawi. He will compete in 50 metres freestyle. Being a national [record] holder, we are confident that he will do well,” Chinatu said.

The 27-year-old swimmer weighs 60 kilogrammes and is 1.76 metres tall.

His coach Brave Lifa said Gomes was ready for the challenge.

“He is calm despite the pressure that comes with competing at the Olympics,” Lifa said.

Meanwhile, Malawi’s top short distance athlete Asimenye Simwaka will be in action Friday when she competes in a 100 metres event at Stade France.

Her coach Pachisi Nyasulu said the national record breaker was beaming with confidence ahead of the showdown.

“We have been working on different aspects of the game and, hopefully, she will deliver the goods,” Nyasulu said.

Another swimmer Tayamika Chang’anamuno (50 metres freestyle) will compete on Saturday at Paris La Defense Arena.

Malawi did not qualify for Paris Olympics but the three were accorded a second chance following their promising performance during the qualifiers.

Recently, Chinatu said the trio was picked by Universality.

“They have been selected by their respective international federations based on their technical performance. They are going to compete in Universality as they failed to qualify for the Games,” Chinatu said.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it stopped picking athletes on solidarity grounds as it was encouraging laziness as poor performing athletes were taking part in the Games.

Through Universality, IOC liaises with respective federations to select athletes whose performance is close to qualifying standards.

Malawi competed in qualifying championships for different sport codes including boxing, judo and taekwondo but fell short of meeting qualifying standards.