FREEMAN SWIMS HIS WAY TO TOKYO2021
Botswana and University of Minnesota swimmer, James Freeman has qualified for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Freeman will swim in the men’s 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle races. The Palapye born swimmer booked his ticket after the conclusion of the Canadian Swimming Team Trials, which were held this past weekend.
It is the fourth time that Botswana Swimming Sports Association (BSSA) will have a representative at Olympics. According to BSSA mouthpiece, Roseline Seleka, Freeman’s qualification will go a long way to inspire other young swimmers to work hard to achieve their Olympics dreams.
“The BSSA is very excited that swimming will be represented in Team Botswana. Our young swimmers who dream of making it to the Olympics will realize it’s not a far-fetched dream. This proves that it takes hard-work for swimmers who have potential, and this is the advantage of individual sports in a small country,” she stated.
Since 2018, Freeman has managed to set a remarkable 12 national records. Currently, he holds every individual freestyle, butterfly and medley record in the country, as well as having swam the anchor leg of the record-setting 4x100 freestyle relay at the CANA ZONE IV Championships which were held at the University of Botswana in May last year. CANA ZONE IV Championships provided other local swimmers with a platform to show their mettle on a big stage. Andile Becker, Fischer Ethan and Keitsile Junior are some of the young talents that displayed impressive performances.
Seleka highlighted that, “the Sport is growing and we see a lot of potential, and we expect to see other swimmers at the next Olympics, Becker and Junior included” Freeman competed in the men’s 400 metre freestyle at the 2019 Youth African Aquatics Championships in Algiers and scooped two gold medals in the 200 and 400 meters freestyle categories. Meanwhile, another local swimmer based in America, Naomi Ruele did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, after withdrawing citing inadequate time to train and prepare for the global showpiece. The games will be held from July 23 to August 8, with swimming events taking place from July 24 - Aug 1.