I’m ready to take on Africa in swimming- Tonjor

Rachael Tonjor

An Olympian, Rachael Tonjor, on Monday, said that she was ready to take on the rest of African swimmers at the Africa Swimming Senior Championship in South Africa.

Tonjor, one of Nigeria’s representatives to the championships, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on her readiness for the competition in Blue Mountain, South Africa.

NAN reports that she dominated the 50m and 100m Breaststroke, Butterfly, Freestyle and Backstroke at the September 7th CNS Swimming Championships at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

The veteran swimmer said she was not ready to quit the sport that had made her popular until the upcoming athletes push her out of the way.

“It is true that this is my fifth appearance at the championships; I am not showing any traces of relaxing yet. I want those behind me to prove that they are better.

“Swimming is not what you decide by yourself before I got to this level, I pushed those ahead of me out of the way, so, I expect that those behind should do same to me.

“I am not tired yet, but if others feel I am too old to compete, they should do the needful by breaking my records and that means it is their time to shine.

“To get to where I am today, so many sacrifices went underneath, I make sure that I keep fit every day, so the onus is upon those
coming behind to do same,’’ she said.

Tonjor, a member of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps, said that swimming as a sport in the country still needed a lot of encouragement through sponsorships.

“The Swimming Federation needs a lot of encouragement; we need corporate sponsors and government to come to our aid to excel.

“Swimming is one of the sports that have a lot of medals compared to other sports. There are many events in swimming that can bring medals for Nigeria.

“If the government can look in this direction and support us, I’m sure the reward will be great because we are endowed with many swimmers that can make the nation proud.

“We pray that the achievements at the 7th CNS will translate to our doing well at the South African competition, Tonjor, Nigeria’s sole
representative in swimming at the Rio Olympics in Brazil said.

NAN report that the African Swimming Senior Championships are scheduled for Oct. 16 to Oct. 23.

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