Swimming: 2024 World Aquatics Championships – Doha, Qatar (February 2-18) |19 February 2024
SAF chairman Morgan and coach Robert Suzette (Photo: SAF)
‘The Seychelles Aquatic Federation is the official source for all swimming news,’ says chairman Morgan
“It is important for the public to be aware that there may be information on social media in circulation which may not reflect factual information, but rather be to the benefit of certain individuals,” chairman of the Seychelles Aquatic Federation, Muriel Morgan has said.
She said the Seychelles Aquatic Federation (SAF) is urging those individuals to cease such practice and to follow the right process before posting information on social media as it may mislead the public.
“The SAF is the official source for all important swimming news relating to Seychelles and the Seychelles team performance, and whilst we do not condemn that swimming news be shared, it is important that the right process is followed for the most credible information to be passed on to the public,” added Mrs Morgan.
Mrs Morgan said as the SAF intends to move forward, past the previous hiccups, its role is to develop a team Seychelles which will be consistently performing and also to give maximum support to our Seychellois athletes in their development and growth.
“We also intend to very shortly discuss and agree on some of the guidelines which will guide Seychelles’ swimming and the participation of athletes in competitions on behalf of Seychelles, with one of the most important being the National Championships which will not only help to inspire other swimmers but also give them the chance to compete against some of our country’s elite,” explained Mrs Morgan before adding that this would also ensure that our athletes are always in touch with Seychelles physically and help the SAF in supporting them.
“The give and take is very important,” she added.
Speaking about Team Seychelles’ performance at the recently-held World Aquatics Championships 2024 in Doha, Qatar, Mrs Morgan said the SAF is happy with the results and is looking forward to better performances in the coming years, not only at the World Championships but also at other regional and international competitions in which Seychelles will take part.
Seychelles was being represented at the championships by seven swimmers – Dorianne Bristol (open water – 5km), Damien Payet (open water – 5km), Thierry Payet (open water – 5km), Aaliyah Palestrini (50m freestyle and 50m backstroke), Angelina Smythe (100m backstroke and 100m freestyle), Simon Bachmann (200m individual medley and 200m butterfly), Adam Moncherry (50m freestyle and 50m butterfly). They were accompanied by coach Robert Suzette.
In the 5km event, Damien Payet clocked 57 minutes 39.70 seconds (57:39.70) to finish 62nd overall, while his brother Thierry Payet was ranked 70th overall, clocking 1 hour, 1 minute 24.50 seconds (1h01:24.50).
In the same course for female swimmers, Bristol did not get an official time after finishing outside the given time limit.
Mrs Morgan noted that whilst the Payet brothers ranked in the open water category, it was unfortunate that Bristol did not, but nevertheless, she proudly added that despite finishing outside the given time limit, she was the third fastest among the swimmers who failed to beat the time limit.
This, Mrs Morgan said, shows the potential she has to bring the sport even further in Seychelles and also to inspire more youth to take up the challenge.
“Whilst we recognise the work done by swimmer Sophie Frichot in the open water category in the past, it is important that we look at the future and make the country even more proud by exposing our young swimmers to such competitions,” she added.
She also noted that in the pool, some of our swimmers improved their best times and despite having to wait for the ratification process, we have seen the potential national records broken.
Mrs Morgan also explained that the swimming pool team were up against very high competition, swimming against some of the elite in the sport, giving them exposure at the highest level and making Seychelles proud as a small country with some wining their heats against other worldwide swimmers.
She thanked the National Sports Council (NSC) for its support in making this championship a reality for our swimmers despite the high financial cost.
Mrs Morgan, who also attended the extraordinary general congress of Africa Aquatics which took place simultaneously with the championships, said the SAF has now been officially recognised by the NSC, World Aquatics and Africa Aquatics and has now taken over swimming as a whole.
She, however, noted that there remains difficulties, especially in terms of financing as the previous Seychelles Swimming Association’s (SSA) accounts is under investigation, meaning that direct access to funds is still an issue. She noted that they are hoping to work with the authorities to find a solution in the shortest possible time regarding the issue.
She also thanked coach Robert Suzette for a job well done, especially with swimmers who are not training in Seychelles, and all the swimmers who have given their best despite challenges to make Seychelles proud.
Regarding the Africa Aquatics extraordinary general meeting aimed at ratifying changes in the Africa Aquatics’ constitution, bringing it in line with that of the World Aquatics, Mrs Morgan said the changes were mainly to do with the composition of the Africa Aquatics executive committee (with more committee members and more gender equity within the sports representation on the African continent).
She added that during the meeting itself, there was a lot of networking and opportunities for improvement of our local technical staff, including coaches or officials amongst others.
Opportunities to improve the infrastructure in Seychelles for swimming was also discussed, while further talks will need to take place with the government for Seychelles to fully benefit from the opportunities available and this will start in the immediate future, concluded Mrs Morgan.
Compiled by Roland Duval
