The Braeburn Swimming Club youngster won silver and five bronze medals in the 12-13 years category, despite it being his debut.

Andy Kodonde in Kampala, Uganda on October 26 / BRIAN OTIENO

Swimming coach Vald Mazazi has called on the government and other stakeholders to invest more in swimming saying Kenya, and especially Mombasa, has a lot of talent that needs nurturing.

Mazazi, who is the Braeburn Swimming Club, Mombasa coach, on Friday said 12-year-old Andy Kodonde is one such talent that needs a lot of investment in.

“We have good swimmers in Mombasa and in Kenya but we have not seen as much investment in the sport as we would have liked. We need more investment in Olympic –size swimming pools,” the coach said.

Kodonde made Kenya proud after bagging six medals for the country at the 11th Africa Aquatics Zone 3 Championships held in Kampala, Uganda, a few days ago.

“That was even more impressive because he was competing in that category for the very first time. He had always competed in the 10-11 age category,” Mazazi said.

Kondonde showed his quality and confidence against some of the East Africa Community’s more established and promising young swimmers.

The 11th Africa Aquatics Zone 3 Championships were held between October 21 and October 25.

Kodonde secured silver in the 100-metre breaststroke and bronze medals in the 50-metre and 200-metre breaststroke events.

He also finished third in the 50-metre freestyle before helping Kenya's under-14 teams win bronze in the 200-metre freestyle relay and the 200-metre medley relay.

“The youngster further demonstrated his progress by setting a personal best in the 200-metre individual medley, finishing sixth after improving his time from 2:59.80 to 2:53.73,” Mazazi said.

This, the swimming coach said, is a significant progress displayed by Kodonde, who has set his eyes in being the best swimmer Kenya has ever produced.

“When he was selected to represent Kenya, he told me he will bring home some medals and he did it. I always believed he could because of his discipline and dedication to swimming,” Mazazi said.

Kodonde, the coach said, is building a good profile despite some areas of his swimming that needs improvement.

His breaststroke technique has to be better if he is to compete with the best in the region at that upper level, Mazazi noted.

“These longer distance competitions like the 200-metre need endurance which he still struggle in. But he will keep getting better with discipline and consistency,” the coach said.

Mazazi expressed confidence in the youngster's potential saying he is on his way to realizing his dream of being the best swimmer Kenya has ever produced.

“It is all about continuity. If he continues with the same discipline and consistency, there is a high chance he can make it to the top and become one of the top Kenyan swimmers, if not the best,” he said.

Kodonde has now set his eyes on the 2027 season where he hopes to grab the opportunities that will be coming his way.

“He has always aimed for the international stage where he believes he will be competing against the world’s best.

The 2027 season will bring along the World School Swimming Championships scheduled for May 7–9, 2027, at the London Aquatics Centre, and the Africa Aquatics Zone 3 Championships set to take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in October.