After three days of tight competition, Delta State are the winners of the 11th Chief of Naval Staff National Swimming Championship in Port Harcourt as they garnered a total of twelve gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals to emerge tops in the largely military tournament.
The Nigeria Police placed second with eight gold, one silver and three bronze medals with the Nigeria Army in third place with a total of twenty medals (five gold, five silver and ten bronze).
Hosts River State placed seventh with two gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
“We (Rivers) will be better prepared by the time the 12th CNS National Swimming Championship would be due,” noted Director of the Rivers State Sports Council, Ibigoni Benjamin.
Speaking at the closing ceremony and awards and medals’ presentation to respective winners at the championship on Saturday, Rear Admiral Patrick Nwatu, who represented the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel I Ogalla, commended the courage displayed by the participants during the competition, adding: “It is not easy to swim a stretch of 100m with almost the same bust of energy from the start to end, not to talk of pushing for about 1500m”.
On behalf of the Chief of Naval Staff, he expressed gratitude to the Rivers State Government, under the steering of Governor Siminialayi Joseph Fubara for the facilities provided in a very safe environment and thumbed up the National Sports Commission for providing the template that is now facilitating events like the 11th CNS National Swimming Championship.
Nwatu said: “Swimming and other water sports can be used to gainfully engage the youths of this country and keep them away from activities like bunkering, sea piracy and pipeline vandalism that sabotage our economy”.
On her part, the National President of the Nigeria Aquatics Federation, Chief Mrs. Chinoye Daphey Aliyu enthused that “the support the Federation received from all the Stakeholders, such as the military and paramilitary, the Rivers State Government and the athletes especially shows that water sports, not just swimming will flourish in Nigeria and help the country to take its rightful place in the comity of sporting Nations.”
She also thanked the officials for applying the best standards in officiating, adding her hope that “athletes called from this competition would not only make the cut but be on the podium for awards at the All Africa Games”.
Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, Rilwanu Olatunji Disu, who stayed from start to finish on the final day also had words of praise for the Nigeria Aquatics Federation, noting however that he was not surprised at the impressive performance of the Nigeria Police contingent, given the emphasis that the Inspector General of Police places on personal and physical fitness vin a disciplined manner.
The Rivers COMPOL, who was accompanied by ACP Shuaibu Bello, the Swimming Boss of the Nigeria Police, disclosed that the Police, under the present IGP, rewards high sports performances in several ways, from cash through scholarship to promotion from one rank to another.
One of the gold medal winners, Ifeakachukwu Nmor (from the Fire Service) assured the Nigeria Aquatics Federation that he would strive to improve his time in the 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke and 200m individual medley by the time they would be going the All Africa Games in May 2024.
