The Botswana Swimming Sport Association (BSSA) national team has powered its way to a spectacular second-place overall finish at the prestigious Africa Aquatics Zone IV Swimming Championships, winning 52 medals and earning 2, 107 points to cement Botswana’s status as a rising African swimming powerhouse.
Botswana won six gold medals, 21 silver medals, and 25 bronze medals at the championships.
The competition that was held in Gaborone from 2-5 September 2026 featured athletes from Southern African nations including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Namibia was crowned the champions after earning 2,610.50 points while South Africa secured the third place after earning 2,007 points.
The athletes participated in different categories that include 800m Freestyle, 50m Breaststroke, 100m Backstroke, 4*100 Medley Relay, 200m Breaststroke, 200m Backstroke, 200m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, 4*100m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke, 100m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle, 4*100m Medley Relay, 200m Butterfly, 100m Freestyle, 200m IM, and 4*50m Freestyle.
In an interview, BSSA President, Kgaotsang Matthews highlighted the importance of the competition, citing that hosting an event of this level in Botswana gave local swimmers an opportunity to compete against some of the best young athletes in the region on home soil.
She added that the championships exposed local swimmers to a higher level of competition and allowed them to gain valuable experience without having to travel abroad.
“It was also important because it showed our young swimmers what is possible. They could see the standard required at an international level and use that experience to set higher goals for themselves. Beyond the results, the competition was an important investment in the development and future of swimming in Botswana,” she said.
Matthews said that as the association they are very pleased with the overall performance of the Botswana team, having achieved second overall and received the silver trophy. She stated that there were some very encouraging individual performances, personal bests and athletes who competed extremely well against strong regional opposition.
“Naturally, as an association we always want more, and there are areas where we know we can improve. But we must also look at performance in the context of development. For us, success is not only measured by the number of medals won, but also by personal bests, finals reached, national records, experience gained and the emergence of athletes who can compete at a higher level in the future,” she said.
Matthwes noted that the team’s performances were broadly in line with what they had expected, while some athletes exceeded expectations. She highlighted that the competition has also given the association a very clear indication of where it needs to focus its development programmes going forward.
“The team was well prepared. The athletes had been training and competing in preparation for the championship, and the coaching and management teams worked hard to ensure that the swimmers were ready both physically and mentally,” she said.
However, Matthwes said that the competitions of this magnitude also expose areas where the association can improve. She added that preparation is an ongoing process, and the association has identified lessons from this championship that will help it improve its preparation for future international competitions.
